Different Streams
by Team Alpha Wolf Squadron
Summary: Alternative to my other story Sunken Destiny. Merman Merlin, instead of being enamoured by Arthur takes a young druid under his wing. (Merdred) Changing some of the chapters since I'm not happy with it.
1. Chapter 1

There was nothing better than a day in the sun. It made the water warmer, the grass grow and the animals around it swarm for a cool place to sleep their exhaustion away.

It also brought a certain man to Merlin's lake.

He heard a shriek, high and very unmanly in its execution. Merlin heard the girls below him laughing, bubbles frothing up as Merlin sent another knock to the wood at his side. He bowed for his audience as another unmanly squeak came from above, only to dart to the side when something dashed down next to his face. It came again, the oar from the boat above following the shadow Merlin made in the water around and around until Merlin saw the man above fall over his own feet and appear before him. They came face to face, Merlin marvelling at having the man so close. Usually he saw him from afar, that head of blonde hair drawing his eye the moment Merlin spotted it through the trees. Up close it looked like tendrils of gold, like a stream of necklaces drifting in a breeze.

The man was startled, first from the fall, and then again as his eyes made out Merlin in front of him. His eyes were comically wide, mouth bloated as he tried to hold in the air above. It made Merlin smile, his hands coming up to grasp those bloated cheeks and plant a kiss on the man's mouth.

The reaction sent Merlin sniggering over to the girls, the man flailing and scrambling as he pushed Merlin off and grabbed around for air and his boat. The man made it back in with nothing else hindering him. Nothing pulling him down or biting his supple flesh. The man knew he was lucky to have gotten back to his boat in one piece, the curses he sent to the waters below mild in comparison to some Merlin had heard. He was grateful, but didn't want to show it. A thing that had Merlin fascinated, elated and darting to the reeds so he could see the man, Prince Arthur himself, shout at no one in the water.

Such a funny human.

He wondered why the prince even came on to the water. It wasn't like there wasn't another way around the water. Sure, it took longer, but the trees surrounding the lake were safer than the creatures that lurked beneath the murky waves.

Most people avoided it, Merlin even knew of a knight someone from a nearby kingdom had placed somewhere within the trees. He warded off those who thought it a good idea of crossing with tales of monsters, men and woman alike, they weren't too picky, would fall to their teeth should they ignore the knight's warning.

Someone like Prince Arthur would surely have heard about the monsters. If he thought they were just tales he would have known after his first visit that they were anything but. Yet, time and again he came to the lake, still crossing, still refusing the other path, and it made Merlin more and more curious each time he did.

'Do you think he's stupid?' he asked his mother that night. 'He looks it. Maybe he's the lame prince of Camelot.'

'Does it matter?' his mother wasn't one for listening to tales of Merlin's prince. She had warned him the first time he let the man go that it would do nothing but hurt him in the end. Whether that be Arthur luring Merlin into a trap, which had actually happened to one of the girls in their lake, they took a fancy to this guy, let him go, watched him every time he came back and the guy grew smart to it. Decided he wanted to make an example of her kind when they ended up killing someone from his village. He used her affection for him to lure her into a net, skewering her in front of the other merfolk on the shore while asking how they liked being the victims. Merlin knew his mother didn't want that happening to him, she was rather kind hearted like that, a trait that wasn't often found in their kind.

'Yes, it does. I mean, if he's stupid then I get why he keeps coming back. He probably doesn't even remember crossing the next time he decides to go out. But what if it's something else? More and more people have been trying their luck of late. Maybe it's a sign.'

'Maybe.' She swam off, her patience for Merlin's wonderings gone.

He pushed all thoughts to Arthur to the side for now, having better things to do like sunbathe and hunt to ponder about why he came. For all of three days. He was digging a gold necklace that had got caught in his scales when a shadow made it hard to see. Long and thick, there was only one thing he knew that made that shadow.

Fins darted past him as he left the necklace alone. The girls had already started circling, the smell of fresh meat high in their noses. He joined them, scenting the occupants himself to make sure it wasn't his idiotic prince back for another jaunt about the water.

No, the people above were unfamiliar, which made them fair game. The girls floated along quietly, Merlin tagging along the back as the girl who got there first made a plan.

She took the front of the boat, slowing its passage and making sure there was nothing within reach to help the man to shallow waters. The oars were the next to go, each one digging in harder to try and get the wood to move under the girls strength. They drifted slowly to the bottom of the lake, Merlin knowing that someone would get them, along with the boat, when they were finished eating and put it back at the edge of the lake for their next victim.

The man above was trapped now, with nothing but the deep awaiting him. Or so they thought. The girl had went up, not bothering with niceties in favour of dragging him neck first to her teeth. Yet no sooner had she surfaced was she cast back down, the crackle of magic heavy in the air.

The boat moved on its own, not needing oars and certainly paying no mind to the other mermaid who was trying to stop it. A unanimous decision was made as the next girl was sent down as well, all of them turning to Merlin with expectant scowls. Ever since he was small if it had magic it was Merlin's problem, something he was always pouting about to his mother. Just because they were dangerous and he had magic himself that didn't mean he had to be the one to deal with it. It just wasn't fair.

Still, with barely a blink Merlin had the boat stopping again, clambering up the side to face his would be sorcerer. There were gasps- there were always gasps when people saw him- and an underlying thrum of magic as the man prepared another assault.

'Don't bother,' Merlin warned, making sure his eyes flashed dangerously.

It had its intended effect, the man cowering away from him and crowding, arms stretched, towards the back. He didn't look too scared however, not in the way they usually were. Even with magic they often ended up begging for their life after a while. Yet this man looked like he had already accepted his death, was embracing it with open arms, it was only- damn- the life he was protecting behind him that had him fighting.

It was a boy, no more than eleven in age and standing unafraid, almost curious, behind the man's arms. Now, Merlin knew his kind was heartless, he often didn't care if women said they had children waiting at home or waiting for them on the other side. More often than not he would make kinds to get them next before dragging whoever it was to the deep. But that was all talk. When a child did come to their lake, they often had a change of heart. Especially when they were, more often than not, more useful to lure people than dead.

The man was lucky, that was all Merlin would say later when his mother asked what happened to the people crossing.

The girls had already fetched the oars, one of them peeking up behind the man to see why Merlin hadn't made the kill. They put them in the boat, sinking back down and letting Merlin take over.

The man looked like he couldn't believe his luck. He kept his hands over the boy, shielding him the whole time Merlin dragged the boat over to the shallows. When it hit gravel and Merlin went back to the water he heard a few passing words about the gods being favourable today before leaving all thoughts of the boy and man behind in favour of luring a hunting falcon that had been circling their waters for an hour now. A hunting falcon almost always had an owner, which meant easy meat.

The weeks passed after that with Arthur returning to the lake a few times. He rowed too and fro, subjecting himself to Merlin's teasing again and again for some purpose or another. Merlin was almost curious enough, as he came a third time that month, to go up and ask Arthur what was so important it couldn't wait ten extra minutes. He'd heard rumours, whispers and seen for himself some of the carnage that was left in the larger waters. Something hostile was on their lands, more, it knew what they were and how to capture them- something that wasn't an easy feat if they weren't a lovesick mermaid.

But he stopped himself on the basis that it was one thing annoying Arthur and a whole other to show himself to the prince. So he kept himself to the waters, contenting himself with taking oars and upsetting the boat.

He thought Arthur had come again when someone told him to take care of the boat. It was rowing rather fast, much different to the strong sure, steady strokes Arthur used. There was that crackle of magic there too, helping the boat move more freely in the water. It was no wonder the girls had sent him up.

Oh.

He stopped halfway up, recognising the wide blue eyes that looked down, almost directly at him. It was the boy, the same one Merlin had helped to the other side a few weeks ago.

He darted to the reeds to make sure, seeing the same blue cloak and dark hair that made up the curious unafraid human. There was something different about him, that had nothing to do with his new guardian. A sickness seemed to be hanging over him, almost gone now but still lingering around the boy.

The man travelling with the boy now pulled him back from the edge, murmuring warnings that carried over to Merlin's ears. 'Stop looking. You'll attract attention and these things will kill you boy.'

The man could have been talking to a wall for all the good it did. The boy, Mordred, as a few more muttered words made its way over, seemed to be looking for something, or just fascinated with the lake he was rowing across. He pulled back from his guardians hands every chance he got, leaning over the side or scouring the reeds, looking straight at Merlin every time he found him.

It became a sort of game, Merlin testing the boys perception more than anything. He dove and hid as many times as he could but Mordred always seemed to know where he was. It was fascinating. He'd never met a human with such awareness before, it made him wonder how he did it, what it was that told the boy where to look.

Nevertheless, it had Merlin impressed. So much so that he sent some of his own magic the boy's way, pushing away that last lingering of sickness. Mordred looked like he'd had a religious experience, stuck still in his seat so much that the man guarding him had to visibly lift him up to carry him off to the woods.

He gave a half hearted wave to Mordred, hoping this was the last time they would meet. He doubted the girls would be so forgiving if he started bringing more off limits meals to their lake, and had no want to see the day come where they would forgo their no children rule and have him for supper.

The days turned to nights, and before long Merlin was seeing Arthur creeping around the shallows again. It was one of the last summer days of the year, Merlin deciding to spend it on a grassy bank just shy of the treeline. He watched as today, Arthur ignored the boat in front of him, seeming to find what he was looking for and going back into the trees.

A rustle sounded a few metres away, Merlin rolling his eyes at the lack of tact Arthur had. Of course he wasn't here to cross today. Why would he when the sun was out and there were half human women with no shame and no clothes on their chests. The girls a few feet from him sent him withering looks, saying without speaking that they knew Arthur was there too, and they weren't impressed.

Turning on to his front Merlin ignored the heated looks and set about finding Arthur's feet in the bushes. He started when he saw just how close he was, his theory about the prince being stupid growing more believable every second he lay there. If that wasn't bad enough he had someone with him, a female someone from the smell of it. She at least, had some stealth, making no noise on the forest floor as she knelt next to her prince.

'Told you,' Arthur said, a smug note in his tone.

'That's incredible.' Her voice didn't rise higher than a whisper, there, again showing stealth where her companion did not. 'Uther will be furious.'

'Indeed.' There was a rustling, something being pulled from a sack and the sound of pages turning.

'Tell me you didn't steal that from Gaius.' The silence said it all. The pages stopped, Arthur huffing a laugh that ended on a rather defeated note. 'Bad news?'

'Extremely. They're mermaids.'

'Maids? Don't know about your eyes but that one doesn't look very female to me.' Merlin hid a smile at the appreciative note in the girls voice. He may have even flicked his tail a few times for her pleasure, he knew how pretty it was to look at after all.

'Well- folk then. And apparently they're very deadly. Not only are they strong, fast and charming, but they have singing voices that can enthral anyone that listens to them. They also eat people.'

'Lovely.' A pause, 'Does it say how to kill them in there?'

'No.'

'Uther's not going to be happy.'

'No doubt. He'll probably have me leading knights down here tomorrow to kill the beasts.'

Merlin considered splashing Arthur for the beast comment, but this information was the most he'd heard from this prince. It was interesting to note they hadn't known what it was hiding in the lake. Definitely explained why there wasn't mob after angry mob trying to fire arrows into them. Very interesting that someone had managed to see them anyway, and document them. It also told him that this Arthur wasn't as stupid as he looked.

'What are you going to do?' the girl asked.

Silence. 'Nothing. We don't tell father. If these creatures really are as dangerous as this book says we don't want their ire. It says they can take down a boat full of people in seconds, imagine what they can do to a kingdom. All they'd have to do was get into the waters. The ones that flow all through Camelot, and we'd be done for.'

There was a thought.

'I won't tell. Nor will I tell about the other reason you want to keep Uther from finding out about them.' The seriousness was gone, teasing taking its place. Whoever she was she was close to Arthur, which kind of had Merlin wondering about her. She could probably tell him tonnes of stories about Arthur. What he was like when he got back to his princely things, what he liked to eat, drink, listen to...

'Which is?'

'Hmmm, topless girls and pretty boys. I wonder why you-'

The leaves rustled, Arthur blowing his cover completely in favour of messing around with his companion. 'I'll have you know I'd never even seen one before today. They've never sunbathed before now. So shut up.'

For that last comment Merlin decided to have some fun with Arthur the next time he came to the lake. He was honestly hurt that Arthur lied to his lady friend. He'd gotten more than a good look at his kind, and more than once too. Merlin had even kissed him. So, the next time he saw that blonde head he perched himself on the side, laughing lightly at the shocked fright on Arthur's face. 'I know we're not exactly memorable. But hopefully you'll ingrain my face this time into your memory your highness.' He had him by the lips before the prince could even utter a word, enjoying the easy way Arthur gave in, and even more when he dragged the man underwater. They stayed there, Arthur struggling in his tight grasp, until all the air had left his lungs. Making sure he hadn't killed the prince, Merlin left him on the shore.

He didn't return for a month.

Instead, when the boat came over his head it was another familiar face peeking down. Mordred.

His hopes to never see the boy again went unheeded by whoever was listening. Mordred was back again, and, like last time, had seemed to abandon his carer in favour of another. Three in fact, with more circling the edge of the lake. Merlin saw a few of his comrades drag down those that veered too close to the edge, which begged the question of why these three thought it a good idea to go on the lake when the other option was far safer.

He went over for his own share, his kindness to the boy extending again to this passage. When he was done, the boat was still there, stopped in fact, right in the centre of the lake.

Mordred was looking over at him, no revulsion or fear on his face. Instead he smiled, actually smiled at Merlin despite the fact he still had human on his face.

The others in the boat were less than pleased to see Merlin, especially when he swam over and pulled himself up the side. They looked about to fall off the side with how they were trying to get away from him. Mordred on the other hand had no qualms about lifting his fingers and pushing them through Merlin's hair. He looked like he couldn't believe Merlin was there. Even his magic was happy, bouncing gently against Merlin's like feet dipping in a wave.

'You should probably leave,' Merlin warned. 'I don't know how many more times we're going to let you cross here.'

The others nodded, already knowing the fate that awaited them. Mordred strayed their hands however, when they reached for the oars, glaring back at them like he was the adult and they the children, before turning to Merlin again. He poked his head to look down the side of the boat, his hands venturing from Merlin's hair to his skin and finally his scales.

He let Mordred look his fill before retreating back down. Almost as soon as he did the boat started moving again, the adults probably winning whatever power struggle had been going on. Not that it stopped them from coming back. Merlin had half a mind to kill the boy himself if he was so stupid to think he would get away with this forever.

Yet there was something different about this visit. There was a smell in the air, more humans coming down. As Merlin listened he could hear the adults on the boat panicking amidst victory cries. But more than that he could hear Mordred himself, plain as day like he was right next to Merlin and not a whole ten feet. It took a moment for Merlin to realise that it was coming from inside his head. Another sharp _'Emrys!'_ sounding before the other humans made themselves known.

They crashed through the trees with crossbows and swords flashing silver in the sun. Knights. Whoever Mordred was with they were no friend to this kingdom, the knights opening fire and hitting one of the men in the boat, sending him over and into the waiting teeth of the girls below.

Merlin remembered what Arthur had said about the knights not knowing what was in the lake, wondering if the boy above was worth exposing them just to get him out of the firing range.

 _'Emrys!'_ came again, Mordred sounding desperate above. Merlin supposed he too would be begging if he was in that situation. No one wanted to die. Not really.

It took little time to swim up and under the boat, the girls lying in wait below it for Merlin to make the grab so they could get the meat. Mordred was easy to pluck out, Merlin making sure the boat tipped enough to look like he fell. He warned the girls as he swam away not to make it too obvious what they were. He had to give Arthur some credit for the idea of keeping themselves a secret. It would certainly make hunting all the more easier.

The men were disposed and boat swaying empty as Merlin broke to the surface in his hiding spot. Mordred was spluttering, clawing desperately for the bank and air, Merlin letting him get a handhold and nothing more. the knights were still at the edge of the forest, scratching their heads and wondering just what the hell they'd seen.

It took a while for them to leave. They seemed to be living in a distant hope that the people had merely fell and would surface any minute. Yet the hours passed and no sign came. Eventually the knights called it a day, Merlin hearing them ask what they were going to tell the king when they got back as he turned to his little problem still clutching at his arms.

Mordred had stopped struggling for a while now, content to sit calmly in the circle of Merlin's arms. He even dozed off for a while, Merlin smothering the urge to drown the little troublemaker when a thought on how cute he looked passed through his mind.

With the knights gone, Merlin helped the boy back onto the bank, telling him to wait there and even getting him some guards, while he went to go search for someone to take him.

The answer came on the fourth stream he searched, a small band of men were huddled by a fire, many of them harbouring the same three pronged tattoo the man he'd first seen Mordred with bore. Better, they had stories very much like the one Mordred had just escaped from. Stories of knights and close misses that had Merlin leaning closer to hear clearly. It got better still when one of them unwrapped something from his cloak, something Merlin recognized from both memory and magic. It called to him, telling him to grab it. It was strong enough to have him crawling halfway out before he realised he couldn't exactly just walk in and get it.

But then, well, Mordred came to mind, and a devious plan with it.

He got back to the lake in record time, Mordred happy to see him again up until Merlin told him he'd found his humans. The boy didn't speak, but then he didn't really have to with that glare on his face.

'Don't be like that. You belong with humans, we'd probably eat you after a few days if you stayed here,' Merlin reasoned. Mordred pouted even more, Merlin thinking this was just the right time to put his plan into action. 'Okay, how about a compromise? I promise, no, we promise, that you can come to our lake at any time you like, day or night, no matter how old you get, and no one will hurt you. Sound good?' That piqued his interest, Mordred smiling a little to himself with the idea. 'But, there's a condition, you have to get something for me.'

That something had Mordred complying all the way back to the human camp. He didn't run off, throw a tantrum or even try to negotiate with something else. Merlin thought this was the start to a wonderful friendship. If he didn't know any better he'd say Mordred was actually wanting to do something nice for Merlin, that want holding strong even after he learned what it was that Merlin wanted.

'That.' Merlin pointed, the crystal shining slightly between the rags. 'Bring me that.'

Mordred glared at it slightly, but nodded anyway, hopping out onto the bank and wringing his cloak out. _'Where should I bring it?'_

Merlin thought about that. He couldn't have the boy bring it to the lake, he didn't want to risk the boy being seen either by the knight or being followed by one of the adults and killed just as Merlin had promised him immunity. He remembered this other little place, somewhere his mother had shown him when he was a child. It was a pool, somewhere she had met his father at. 'There's a place not far from here. There are giant statues and a gap between them. They lead to a pool where I'll meet you. Don't be too long.'

Mordred nodded, tottering off back to the adults like a wounded child and leaving Merlin in slight awe at his acting skills. Not wasting time, Merlin dived, swimming easily to the pool he'd said and waited.

He didn't worry about Mordred as the hours went on. The boy was powerful, that much was known more than just the touch of his magic. Despite the fact it thrummed like nothing Merlin had ever felt there was also the way the others had treated the boy. The first time had been like he was to be protected, and, looking back, Merlin was beginning to wonder if that was at all familiar affection or something else. If he was powerful the man would have probably been charged with protecting him. An interesting thought. Then there was the other man on the way back. Despite his attempts Mordred had ignored him in favour of looking over the side. Surely, much like the humans he'd just disposed of, if Mordred had just been a simple errant child they could have easily put him in his place? Yet, they didn't. They let him do what he liked, to a point.

Maybe it wasn't just luck that had Merlin sparing Mordred.

He came just before nightfall, the small brush of magic touching Merlin's own the only notice he got before two little feet were dipping in the pool. He handed the crystal over when Merlin prompted, looking glad to be rid of it.

 _'They say I'm meant to master it.'_ he said after a while.

'They?'

 _'Alvarr. The man in the boat. He wished for me to use it to unseat Uther.'_

Uther. Arthur's companion had mentioned an Uther, and since Mordred said unseat he guessed the man was Arthur's father. it was an odd thought thinking Arthur had a father. Merlin's kind didn't often put family to meat.

'I doubt you could have done that with this.'

 _'You know what it is?'_

Merlin nodded, remembering something similar his mother used to own. 'It's a seeing stone. They tell the future, well a possible future.' Mordred's interest grew, the boy inching closer to the crystal like he could activate it if he looked hard enough. 'You won't see anything. It only shows you when it wants to, and only ever your own future. Unless you were meant to unseat Uther at some point in your life this crystal is basically useless.'

'So it isn't a weapon?'

Merlin shook his head, wondering what was going on in Mordred's head. Was he happy about it being useless? Upset that he risked his life for something so trivial? Merlin didn't know, he couldn't tell through the blank line and wide blue eyes and it was driving him insane. If there was one thing his kind prided itself on it was reading people, how else were they to lure prey if they couldn't.

Needing some time to think Merlin sent Mordred off with warnings of the others getting suspicious if he wasn't there when the crystal went missing. He expected a fight, from the reluctance Mordred had already shown it wouldn't be that far a stretch. But something obviously clicked in his mind since he was getting up and leaving once he made sure he could go visit Merlin whenever he wanted.

'Of course, I promised you didn't I?' Merlin grinned. 'Besides, that Emrys you were calling for will probably want to see you again.'

He chose to ignore the confused frown on Mordred's face, his head already battered enough with trying to read this kid. Hopefully the next time they saw each other would be less confusing.


	2. Chapter 2

He gifted his mother with the crystal when he got home. The last one they had she fashioned into a mirror, the thing staying in their makeshift home until Merlin was 65. His powers had just bloomed a few decades before, his mother trying to teach him to be careful, but when a young merman whose never even heard of another of his kind having magic it was hard to do so. He remembered they had a fight, Merlin storming off with a huff, and his magic echoing it through the water powerful enough to crack it.

This time, his mother made sure Merlin knew the rules. No magic near the mirror. No tantrums near the mirror. No touching, no Merlin anywhere around it basically, which, considering he was the one who had got the crystal in the first place, Merlin thought was a tad unfair.

Especially when he was floating somewhat near it one day and saw something glimmer in the smooth stone. He called his mother, but by the time she appeared the images had gone.

'Anything important?' she asked, curious eyes on Merlin. They all knew that the stone showed personal futures. She was probably concerned that Merlin was going to destroy the lake or something. Merlin could at least reassure her that scenario wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

'Just weird images about Arthur.' His mother sighed, the topic of Arthur having her warning him not to touch before swimming off to somewhere else.

Still, they were weird images. Some of them were in a forest, much like the ones surrounding their lake. In others he was in a corridor. All of them had Arthur in them, and all of them had Merlin next to him, human. He looked weird as a human. His legs were all long, towering over Arthur. He looked to his tail, wondering how legs would feel in its place. He couldn't imagine it, so didn't try, discarding the images as quickly as they came in favour of doing something else with his day.

Arthur came the next day, his female companion with him once again. The two of them perched themselves in the bushes, Arthur having the brains enough to keep his friend off the lake. Merlin lay himself close again on the pretence of sunbathing, some of the girls joining him when their human spectators did nothing more than sit there.

Arthur had another book with him, some charcoals too which had Merlin posing as subtly as he could when he figured out what this visit was about.

'You're drawing his tail wrong,' The girl commented.

'I doubt it matters,' Arthur said, despite two seconds later the sounds of paper being shuffled over was heard. 'Make sure you get that one down. He's dangerous.'

'No?' the girl scoffed. 'Something that eats people is dangerous.'

'Alright,' Arthur cut in. 'But seriously, the book said maids, and that thing isn't one. If we have any chance of keeping them contained we need more information about them, starting with correcting Gaius' book.'

'What did it do to you anyway? I mean, it didn't eat you, which it probably should have. So...?'

'So nothing. Just get it down.'

There was nothing for a while but the scraping of charcoal on parchment. Merlin thought over what they had said. They were going to try and contain them in the lake. Either Arthur had managed to persuade his father to think carefully about the carnage with the rebels or he didn't know. Merlin was willing to bet the latter. Especially since Arthur and his friend were here unaccompanied, again. If the kind did know his son was so close to man eating creatures Merlin had no doubt there would be half an army ready to try and take them down.

'How much longer do you think Gaius will keep his silence?' the girl asked, the charcoal stopping and parchment being moved around again. 'You know he will only obey for so long. He's too concerned about your safety to keep this to himself.'

'Gaius will keep quiet so long as I ask Morgana. He may be concerned but he is loyal too. Besides, from the way he spoke apparently one of the merfolk have taken a liking to me. So long as that interest holds my safety should be secured whenever I venture down here.'

The bushes snapped as their leaves were parted, Merlin seeing Arthur poking his head through. He could also see his companion. Merlin knew beauty when he saw it, he was surrounded by beautiful girls everyday, which was why he could admit Arthur's companion was one of the most awe striking girls he'd ever seen. It wasn't just her looks that held the eye. She had a sort of essence, reminding him of Mordred, that had Merlin entranced.

'Which one do you think it is?' the girl asked, Merlin taking note of more things now he had a face to put to voice. It was polished, she was polished despite the hood that hid her face. A noble woman then, since the only other human girls he'd seen had been a far sight from this woman's look.

Arthur was either related to her or plain stupid, since he treated her like she was a minor annoyance. She couldn't see the rolled eyes but Merlin could, as he saw the pointed look sent his way afterwards as well. 'No idea.'

Merlin offered a smile their way, pointedly waving to show they weren't as secretive as they thought and retreated back to the waters, tired of putting up with Arthur for the day.

He saw Arthur every other week or so, the prince seeming to have nothing else to do with his life. He'd sit in the bushes, or on the shore, with a book on his lap and a quill in his hand. He was studying them, making notes about them. How unfortunate that Merlin was making sure that information was as limited as possible. Since Arthur had refused to go out onto the lake since Merlin's little trick the only time he saw them was when the weather was hot enough to let them lie on the banks. These days, so close to winter, that was few and far between, and when they did go onto the banks Merlin made sure they did nothing more than laze about, his mother, when he told her about the Prince's plans, was more than on board on getting the others to listen and cooperate with this plan. She didn't want them to be studied anymore than Merlin did, fearing what might happen if the prince were to stumble on some weakness or another he could exploit.

When winter finally did come it wasn't just Merlin's instructions that had everyone keeping to the lake. The harsh winds and lowering temperatures had them forced to stay underwater, ice making a thick prison for them to stay under.

As it usually happened when winter came the people from the villages and surrounding kingdoms thought whatever danger lay beneath had been vanquished by the cold. They came in streams of twos and threes, making camp near the shores and skating day and night on the frozen lake.

Merlin would have thought it an insult, had he not found a way through the ice years ago.

He knew he couldn't attack them like he usually did. First off, because this year he knew for a fact people didn't know what it was that lived in the lake. Secondly, because there were too many people and too many scenarios where a hunt could go wrong. So winter had to make him smart, sneaky, and overall fast or he wouldn't eat at all.

His usual prey on winter nights were lovers who would come down for a midnight skate. There was never more than six people on the lake at once, more often than not staying there for an hour before retreating to the bushes. It was the bushes were Merlin got them.

He used his magic to break through the ice, picking a spot he wouldn't be easily overheard by the others in, and using his voice to call those who had retreated to the bushes to him. They came like moths to a flame, their eyes glazed, limbs slack and delightfully devoid of clothing which made eating them all the more easily.

He'd managed to take down three couples when something exciting happened. He was lounging amongst the reeds, head back and stomach full from that last girl. He was watching the clouds, the greys and whites intercepting each other, and casting his gaze around in merry satisfaction when he saw a hint of red in the trees.

He thought it a bird, at first. They often got colourful and interesting birds nesting in the trees, but it wasn't the season for them, and, as he watched, they were moving too solidly to be the fluttering jerks of a bird. It was only when a trumpet sounded, the red giving way to silver and steel did Merlin realise where he'd seen that colour before. The last had been when Mordred had came to the lake, the boy being chased by knights from Arthur's kingdom.

It wasn't just a few this time. Nor were they on foot. These ones were on top of horses, a marvellous sight, and leading at least twenty or thirty men in the same clothes behind them. What was better Merlin recognised one of the knights, that blonde head of hair last seen a good three weeks before, just after the first snow fall.

Merlin went to find his mother, knowing she needed to be informed about this latest turn of events. Needless to say she wasn't pleased, gathering the merfolk as soon as she could so news of the prince and his brigade was known. She feared they had come to get rid of them, sending a pointed look at Merlin when she asked whether any of them had been hunting the past few days. He shot her a sheepish grin, intending to apologise later when the first resounding boom sounded from above.

Merlin darted off, popping up beside his reeds to find the knights had made a makeshift camp along the shore. The bang had been someone distinctly not a knight, and carrying what looked like a lute. Intrigued, Merlin watched some more as the girl Arthur had sometimes came down with made an appearance with an older man, one who had Arthur's chin, the two of them sitting on a pavilion someone had erected.

He went back to his mother with news of leisure. They weren't being hunted, it seemed. Instead, the prince had decided the lake was a pleasant place to set up roots for winter. Merlin recalled some of the people who visited mentioning a holiday of sorts. Yule or some such. He supposed it was oddly romantic to spend it at a lakeside, his mother agreeing but looking no less tense as she put everyone on a hunger strike until Arthur and his men left.

The first day the brigade were there they had a feast by the lakeshore, with music and some kind of flailing keeping everyone entertained. The second, the knights had broke off into two sections, half of them keeping watch on the three important members of the court, while the second went skating like the rest of the kingdom.

Arthur looked like a fool skating on the ice. He looked to be trying to enjoy himself, but more often than not he was reaching for the shores, like just being on the water brought back bad memories. It was nice to know Merlin had made an impression on the prince. If it had been warmer he might have chanced his luck by messing with him a bit. But it was winter and he had a cover to maintain so Merlin contented himself with merely watching.

On the seventh day another man came to the lake. He was old, looking like one of the villagers from than the court. Yet Arthur seemed to know him, as did the girl, the two of them breaking off from the other man to greet this new visitor.

They took him to the side, eerily close to Merlin's hiding place.

'-safe my lord?' the old man asked.

'No,' Arthur said. 'But they haven't been seen since the ice overcame the lake.'

'They could be dead,' the girl said, not sounding very optimistic as she did.

The old man shook his head, 'Creatures such as this can last through extreme temperatures. No, they're hiding. What I don't understand is why you're not taking advantage of this Arthur. They're probably trapped under there, and with the other streams leading into this also frozen I would have thought this the best opportunity to rid the kingdom of them.'

'Yes, I suppose it is,' Arthur agreed. If Merlin didn't know any better he would have thought Arthur was searching for a way to defend himself. Like he needed a reason not to tell his father. Something was going on, and he was damned if it didn't make Arthur all the more interesting for it. 'But it hardly seems fair,' Arthur settled on, 'They look so human, it just feels wrong to ambush them like this.'

'Well, lets hope your admirer holds the same morals as you do sire.'

They moved off, the old man leaving the festivities the next morning.

The eleventh day of the prince's visit saw him skating again, the girl and man with him while knights hovered like a net around them. Merlin was in his hiding spot again, tired of being cooped up underwater with nothing else to do than listen to the others complain.

He considered taking a nap, the snow nice and cool against his cheek when he felt it. Like a tingling through his body. The last time he felt this... there, Merlin could smell him already. Perking up from his spot he found the small dark head easily in the bushes. His cloak was up, but the colour was too bright against the dead twigs and barren oaks. He stood out, and would do for a good few metres.

Merlin wasn't the only on to spot Mordred. One shout went up from the knights. Then another, until a whole chorus was chasing the errant girl who'd broken off from Arthur. She was racing across the ice, an urgency there that hadn't been there before. Arthur wasn't far from her, managing to get her by the wrist and tug her, the two of them slipping and falling, to a stop.

 _'Nightfall,'_ Merlin sent towards Mordred, the message having him racing off through the trees and out of sight before anyone else could find him.

'Morgana leave him before you both end up dead,' Merlin heard Arthur hiss.

'But-'

'Father's watching.'

They made a big spectacle of helping each other up, Morgana playing off her run as being startled by a fish under the ice. 'I thought it was a monster,' she laughed to the king, the three of them returning to the shore in light spirits.

Mordred, sure enough, came back when it was dark. Merlin saw him creeping around the edge, stopping and finding Merlin almost as soon as he surfaced. He looked in good health, no new bruises or cuts on the skin that was visible. Merlin couldn't feel any illness on him either.

To not be seen Merlin dragged the boy into the reeds, settling him on a patch of ice.

'I haven't seen Emrys if that's why you're here.' He'd searched for someone with that name in the lake ever since the boy had left, coming up with no answers no matter who he asked. The boy didn't seem that perturbed, shrugging his shoulders like it couldn't be helped before making himself more comfortable on the ice. 'You're not here to cause trouble again are you? I doubt even you could escape the knights this time.'

Mordred still said nothing, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. He didn't seem to have any visible reason to be at the lake, and since he wasn't talking Merlin decided to prattle on and hope Mordred would grow tired and tell him eventually.

He went through everything he could think of. His latest kills, his mother, the girls complaining about being stuck underwater, and Mordred didn't even begin to look bored. He seemed rather fascinated with it actually, which put Merlin a bit out since he was trying to come up with more to say.

Finally, just as Merlin was commenting about how to hunt through birds, Mordred spoke up: _'Are you hungry?'_

Merlin shrugged, 'I guess. I'm usually always hungry in winter. Food's hard to come by, and since his royal pratness decided to show up my mother's put everyone on a hunger strike.'

A grin edged onto Mordred's face, _'I didn't think they would be here.'_

'Neither did I. Well, Arthur, sure, but he's always down here. The others on the other hand, whatever Yule is I hope it's over soon.'

 _'Arthur?'_ The boy looked through the reeds, finding Arthur much faster than a normal human should in this light. _'He comes down here a lot? Does he know about you?'_

Merlin thought he could detect some concern in there. How cute that this small human was worried about him. 'He's seen me, but don't worry, I can handle myself pretty well.' He flashed his teeth, his real teeth that ripped skin and muscle apart like they were nothing, and was surprised when nothing more than a blink passed over Mordred's face. This kid had nerves of steel he'd give him that.

 _'He knows about you, yet does nothing?'_ Mordred pressed, sounding like he was two minutes away from jumping up and confronting Arthur himself.

'Is he meant to do something?' For some reason he got the sense Mordred didn't mean 'something' as killing. It was almost like there was another purpose for Arthur coming to the lake.

Yet, Mordred deflated where he sat, sending a considering sweep over Merlin before shrugging again. _'I suppose not.'_

'You humans and your secrets,' Merlin wondered. 'Some day I'm going to be able to read through them.'

With nothing more coming from Mordred Merlin started on his prattle again, not really knowing what he was going to do if every interaction with Mordred was going to end in a one sided conversation. Unlike last time, however, Mordred didn't keep him talking for long. As soon as he had decided something in his head, he was up and off like an arrow across the lake.

Merlin tried to call him back, especially when the knights caught sight of the boy. He had half a mind to follow him through the ice and drag him back to shore. He could do it, his magic would let him. But Mordred was already on his way back, running towards the reeds and diving down into the water before Merlin could stop him.

 _'Quick,'_ he heard, Mordred scrambling at the bank just as another body careened through the reeds. _'Before more come.'_

Realising what Mordred had done for him he broke the ice to get the knight and had him eaten as the others started giving off warnings.

'The boy's probably dead,' he heard from the brigade.

'Sir Pelinore?'

'It looks like he fell through the ice.'

'He'll be dead too by now. No one can survive that cold.'

Except a small boy with magic in his veins. When Merlin finally checked on Mordred he found him sitting primly, dry as a bone, on a scarce stretch of ice. He looked quite satisfied with himself, the look fading as Merlin's murderous notions played out on his face.

'You could have gotten hurt,' Merlin bit out, trying to be gentle. The boy thought he was doing good, he couldn't really berate him for that.

 _'I knew you wouldn't let me. Are you less hungry now?'_

Merlin sighed, gearing himself up for a rant as he explained that his kind didn't really need to eat all that often. Yes, Merlin was hungry, but he'd went for months being hungry with no food and been fine. Mordred didn't need to lure people for him, as nice as it was.

Suitably chastised, Mordred didn't linger too long afterwards. Merlin made sure, before he went, that he knew he wasn't mad at Mordred, just concerned, and invited him around again when it was spring.

'So you don't freeze,' Merlin said when Mordred asked why not sooner. 'You humans are fragile, I need to look out for you. Not to mention spring means sun which means no ice and long lazy days on grassy banks.'

The king left a few hours after Mordred, too spooked about his lost knight to stay any longer.

The weeks passed all too quickly after that. The ice thinned as the air grew warmer, and Arthur started coming more frequently again. When Spring had officially declared itself as here, Merlin also saw Mordred again, the boy more at ease now the king and his knights were gone.

It was one day, the first hot one of the year, where Merlin could finally seat himself comfortably on the banks again. The grass was dry after so long being wet, and the leaves had started growing on the trees and bushes, creating a nice little niche of shade, or cover, depending on who it was.

Merlin was on his front, once again posing for Arthur's little book of findings, when he was jumped on by someone he definitely didn't expect. Mordred laughed with all the guile of a child, whooping out loud, for once, that he'd managed to sneak up on Merlin.

 _'I thought your kind were more aware than that,'_ Mordred preened.

'We are,' Merlin said, casting a quick glance to the bushes. Mordred's arrival had spooked more than him, Arthur looking horrified at the image of Merlin and the boy. No doubt he thought Merlin was going to eat him. 'I was distracted.' He pushed Mordred off, making a spectacle of showing that he meant the boy no harm. It did its job, Arthur relaxing for some reason or another back into his hiding spot. 'What are you doing here?'

 _'You said I could come anytime I liked.'_

'I did,' Merlin agreed. It turned out that was just one in a long series of visits Merlin would get.

Mordred, for some reason or another, was fascinated with the lake. He wasn't like Arthur who sat there and scowled as he looked for weaknesses. He seemed to be happy in accepting everything that Merlin was. In fact, more than once, Merlin found Mordred leading people from villages to the lake, effectively feeding Merlin.

Before he knew it the months had passed and it was winter again, Merlin actually relying on Mordred to bring him people when the snow got too thick for people to venture down to the lake this year. How the boy did it Merlin didn't know, nor care when his stomach was full and he had someone else to talk to.

Throughout it all Arthur kept to the bushes, never once warding Mordred away or even trying to follow him when he left. Merlin thought he was almost uncaring about what happened to the boy, had he not seen the way Arthur would perk up whenever he saw Mordred himself.

Around Spring Merlin asked what happened to the man Mordred had originally been travelling with. It had been on his mind a while. Especially when Mordred told him about druid culture. From the sounds of it, his first guardian wasn't anything like the rebels Mordred had teamed up with. What could have happened between the first and third passing had Merlin reeling. He'd never thought about land before, not in the sense that they had adventures and fun like Merlin did. To him, land was small, the water was large. But Mordred told him more exciting things about land than Merlin thought possible.

 _'... and now we're being hunted. There's a few tribes left but not many. I managed to find one by the way.'_

Which Merlin was happy about. Mordred had been talking about leaving the rebels for at least a year now. He had tried to get Merlin to let him stay at the lakeside, but Merlin wouldn't let him. Not only was it dangerous but Mordred belonged with his own kind, no matter how much Merlin might have grown fond of him over the months.

'One of the elders said he was going to help me with my magic. Maybe I could teach you some spells as well,' Mordred said, out loud for once. It had been happening more and more lately, Mordred speaking every so often, and each time Merlin found himself grinning despite the topic. It was pleasing, for some reason, to know Mordred was growing more comfortable with him.

'That sounds great.' Another thing he didn't know. He'd just thought magic was something you thought and it happened, but Mordred said there were spells. Spells that could do more than stop time and move stuff around, even if Mordred said those things on their own were amazing feats of magic.

The lessons kept them busy for hours. By the time summer came Merlin could create fire, move water and heal wounds- well, small wounds- which was a great improvement to what he could do before.

Mordred was showing him a new spell he'd learnt, discarding his cloak and clothes to tread water. Merlin gave in and helped him sit still in the water, telling Mordred to stop squirming when the pair of them didn't like the dragging of flesh on scales. The spell was to make warm bubbles, something that would come in handy in the winter.

'It heats up the water,' Mordred explained, Merlin feeling the change in temperature when he passed his hand over the bubbles.

Merlin tried it out when he scented something in the air. A twig broke, the bushes rustled, and as Merlin watched the girl Arthur used to come down with, although not in recent months, passed around the side of the lake.

Mordred was scrambling for the side, getting his cloak and running off into the bushes after her like a bolt of lightning. Merlin didn't know what to think, only wonder if Mordred would tell him more about what happened in Camelot when he came back.


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N: For those who've asked, yes I am going to finish _Sunken Destiny_. I just decided to take a break from it and write an alternative because this idea has been in my mind since starting _Sunken Destiny_. Anyway, for those who read this story, or any of my stories, I hope you like them.**

Morgana came onto the lake again a few days after Mordred had decided to stay. Unlike last time her sister wasn't a strong force at her side to keep the hungry mermaids away. Stooped and half unconscious the girls were trying their luck again, seeing, if not Morgana, perhaps they could get her sister. While Morgana kept them mostly at bay Mordred, who Merlin had purposefully kept hidden with him, was voicing his concern anyway.

"Perhaps I should go help her," He worried.

"Or just let her be. She doesn't look to be in any mood to see you right now." Another girl shrank back to her home after Morgana scorched some of her skin off.

"But she's in trouble."

"Trouble she brought upon herself," Merlin reasoned. "First by going to Camelot and secondly by returning to the lake in the state she's in. She has no one to blame but herself for this mess."

"Merpeople really don't care about others do they?" It wasn't said unkindly. Merely a statement Mordred was realizing for the first time.

"Not really. Humans are just food after all," He said, then caught himself when he realized who he was speaking with. "Not you. You're the exception."

They went back to watching Morgana sail across the lake. She was a good way over, but her sister was still attracting a lot of unwanted attention.

"If I was in trouble..."

Merlin hummed to show he was listening.

"If I was in trouble, would you come and help me?" Mordred eventually bit out.

"Depends what kind of trouble you've gotten yourself into," Merlin replied.

Mordred didn't further his line of questioning. Morgana made it to the other side and shortly after it got dark Mordred headed back to the druid camp.

Merlin didn't see the boy for a good month. The days didn't seem all that long to him so he was quite surprised when someone mentioned the date to him. After that he started wondering what Mordred was up to. Merlin didn't worry, he knew the boy could take care of himself. Still, it was disconcerting having Mordred by the lake so often only to disappear so suddenly.

The winds were bitter on the day Mordred did turn up again. A storm was rolling its way through the clouds and heading eastwards. Everyone in the lake had no doubt that it would hit them before moving on and were bracing themselves for the first onslaught of rain. Personally Merlin hoped that it wouldn't stay long. The last time a storm as bad as this one looked hit the lake had burst. While he appreciated the extra water, he didn't care much for dozing on the lake and waking up on a flooded patch of grass. The shuffle back home had been most humiliating.

The air was humming with the coming storm as Merlin smelled his druid tip toe his way onto the lakeside. He waited a few minutes to make sure the boy was alone before surfacing, and stopped, shocked at the bloody mess that was Mordred's face.

"What happened?"

The boy was calm as Merlin pulled himself up next to him, but crumpled as Merlin wiped some of the blood from his face.

"There was an attack. Everyone's dead."

It stood to show how cold Mordred could be at times. While the boy was happy curling himself on Merlin's tail he didn't shed a tear, and talked as calmly as he would any other day.

"Knights," Merlin guessed.

"Bandits too," Mordred added.

"Too?"

The boy shrugged on his lap. "I think a bargain was struck. The bandits wanted something and the knights had a duty to perform. It wasn't even us they were looking for."

"Everyone's dead?" Merlin checked.

Mordred nodded into his stomach, "There were dogs. They made sure that none of us got away."

"So how did you?"

"I ran to the Valley of the Kings and hid in the pool you showed me. The dogs must have lost my scent in the water." There was a rather nasty cut biting into Mordred's breeches. Merlin guessed he didn't escape the dogs unconditionally.

"I don't know any healing spells," Merlin warned.

But he sat the boy up anyway and helped Mordred clean himself up as best he could. He ended up having to call his mother to take a look at the bite on Mordred's leg. She sewed it shut with only minimal complaining before telling Merlin to get her again if the wound starts turning an odd colour.

The rain started just as Mordred had fastened his cloak. The pair of them were at a loss as to what to do. Mordred couldn't stay at the lakeside, not with the storm, and nor could he go back to the druid camp.

"I have an idea," Merlin suggested, even as his mind was screaming at him that this was a bad idea. "Some girls were having a competition a few days back," He explained as he undressed Mordred again. "They were seeing who could get the farthest into Camelot unseen. With the waters filling up like this it'll be easier to swim you into the castle for the night."

Reluctant at first Mordred just paddled in the water. It took the thunder booming for the boy to realize the predicament he was in.

Clinging onto Merlin the pair of them ignored the water pounding on their heads and swam up the streams and rivers that led into Camelot.

Merlin had never been here before. While the curiosity to see the famous castle was strong, he knew that it would be just like every other man made thing and passed on the girl's competition. Now he was wishing he had taken up the offer, Camelot was truly something to behold. Long white towers that gleamed silver from the gathering clouds. With smells he had never imagined before sailing over his head. People were bustling around as the rain started up here as well. Covering their stalls and saving their livelihoods from being drowned. Merlin wished he could stay longer and see what it was some of them were selling, put a name to the smells, but there was Mordred to think of. So Merlin turned from the streets of Camelot and headed further into the castle itself.

Thankfully there was only one deep entrance in, which led to a pitch black corridor, so Mordred could get his breath without fear of being found. He swam around the dark pools until he found one with a ledge. Mordred was reluctant to step onto it, every scratch and roll he heard had him edging closer to Merlin.

Merlin thought it horrid that a boy who could escape bandits and lead men to their deaths without shedding a tear was frightened with the thought of spending the night in a castle. This wasn't the world he was meant to grow up in.

"I'm not leaving you," Merlin promised. "I'm going to be at the bottom of the pool, as soon as it's morning we'll head back to the lake."

With nothing more than the skin on his bones Mordred curled up on his ledge and tried to sleep the night away. Merlin wasn't so lucky. The castle seemed to be calling him to explore it and weighed heavy on his mind every time he closed his eyes. It didn't help that someone actually woke him when he did fall asleep.

Thinking it was Mordred he checked to see what the boy wanted. But Mordred was worried. Alert and peering closely in the darkness, he shushed Merlin before climbing into the pool with him.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yes, I thought it was you," He said.

Mordred was still looking around him, his human eyes doing their best in the dark to see if there was anyone here with them.

"There's no one with us," Merlin reassured.

"No," Mordred agreed. "But that doesn't mean we're alone."

The call came again. This time it seemed only Merlin had heard it when Mordred asked what it was. The voice was masculine, that was all he could say about it. He couldn't put a face to it, which was worrying since whoever it was seemed to know about him.

"I think it's coming from this way," Merlin said. He turned back to Mordred, "Do you want to investigate it?"

"It could be trouble," Mordred said even as Merlin was drifting towards the tunnel leading out from the pool.

"It's most certainly trouble," Merlin agreed.

He heard Mordred scoff behind him and felt as the boy caught up to him. He had the boy climb on his back so he wouldn't have to keep pace and the pair of them went to investigate the strange call.

It took some time, and several calls before they were gazing into the face of a dragon. A very perturbed dragon.

"Young Warlock," it greeted, its voice much louder in person than it was in his head.

"Dragon," Merlin nodded, feeling Mordred do the same.

"You weren't supposed to bring the druid boy," it admonished.

"Well you shouldn't have called in the first place if you didn't want that," Merlin countered. "Stay," He ordered as he felt Mordred shuffle on his back. Even if he did know to leave Mordred he wouldn't, he had made a promise to stay with him until they got back to the lake.

The dragon didn't look any more happier as the minutes went by and no one moved. Merlin refused to let Mordred wiggle out from his hold. This was a dragon. The first one he had ever seen, and while he didn't know how many Mordred had saw, he wasn't going to experience this alone.

"Did you actually want something?" Merlin eventually asked.

"Yes." A pointed look was sent Mordred's way again. "It's about your destiny."

The wriggling stopped as Mordred became a dead weight against him.

"He doesn't know," Mordred said. Merlin tried to turn as he heard Mordred's voice waver. The boy shouldn't be frightened, he wasn't going to let anything happen to him.

"He should know," the dragon said.

"It should be up to him," Mordred protested. "Besides, Arthur's doing just fine on his own."

Merlin was at a loss. They were talking over his head like he wasn't there, and while he knew who Arthur was, the rest of it detailing his destiny was confusing him.

"What's going on?"

They both fell silent.

Finally the dragon spoke up; "Young Warlock, have you ever wondered why you're so different from the rest of your kind."

"I know my father was a human if that's what you're getting at," Merlin said. "Mother said he was a sorcerer, which is why I can do magic."

"This is true," The dragon agreed. "But haven't you ever wondered what your magic could be used for?"

"Not really." Which was true. He had magic, but so did other creatures. It wasn't really worth thinking about what he could use his magic for in his opinion. He wasn't exactly special.

"Perhaps we should have this conversation a different time," The dragon bargained, his beady eyes trained on Mordred.

"Or now. After all, I don't plan on returning." Merlin pointed out.

The dragon seemed to find this amusing as he chuckled slightly as he turned. "A conversation for a better time."

When it didn't turn back Merlin took Mordred to their pool. What Mordred and the dragon were talking about both made sense and completely confused him at the same time. He knew Mordred had an inkling as to what the dragon was talking about, yet the fact he wanted to keep Merlin in the dark had him wondering if it was worth knowing. No, Mordred wasn't keeping him in the dark. He just didn't want to impose on Merlin. A kind gesture. Also a selfish one if the looks the dragon was sending the boy were to be heeded.

Merlin contemplated asking Mordred to just tell him what the dragon hadn't. The boy was still awake, he could hear him tossing on the cold cement. But his own mind held him back. If the dragon was hostile to Mordred he would want Merlin to keep away from him. He didn't really want to do that. Mordred was the only human he had ever liked. Apart from Arthur, but that was more like a mutual truce between the two.

So he kept to himself and slept the night away.

Morning came with the dark pool lighting up somewhat from a small window high up. The rays changed the colours around him so one moment he would be shrouded in shadows and the next his tail lighting up like treasure. The hours waiting for Mordred to wake were spent alternating which patch of water he would stay in. He had just darted through another patch of light when he heard quiet laughter above.

"The rain's gone," Merlin said.

And indeed it had. If the sun wasn't any hint then the sound of birds crowing and twittering without stop outside said so.

Despite this, Mordred was reluctant to set foot in the water.

"You're going to make me find more humans aren't you?" He asked.

Merlin sighed, the question was bound to come, he knew. Especially after the last few days. "Yes. You-"

"Belong with humans, I know," He cut in. "But I don't feel like I do. None of them understand me. Not like you."

Merlin chuckled, "That's not exactly a good thing Mordred."

"I know, but look at what happened," He insisted. "What if it happens again? You're the only one that I know who won't..."

Merlin didn't know how Mordred was going to end that sentence. The boy didn't either as he struggled with his words.

"Mordred, last night proved that you can't stay with me." Merlin motioned to the castle around them, "I had to break into a castle to keep you safe. A _human_ dwelling. If you had stayed at the lake, lived there, you would have either died last night or caught some disease and passed away in a couple of days. It's for the best."

Mordred was out of arguments and let Merlin swim them back through Camelot. Not without a little sightseeing first.

He made sure Mordred was well hidden as he pointed things out that he wanted explaining. Apparently the woman lounging in a doorway was a seamstress, shouting at her wayward son for getting a poor quality of silk. When asked what a seamstress was Mordred told him they were for making clothes. Merlin didn't much care for clothes so he soon turned his attention to the foods the vendors were selling. Fish, vegetables and other meats Merlin couldn't place with only some of it on show. Then there were the trinkets.

"We have some of those at the bottom of our lake," Merlin said, pointing towards a necklace.

Mordred poked his head up and smirked slightly to himself. "But I bet yours is actually real."

When Merlin asked what the buyer was giving the vendor Mordred explained currency to him. After that chat Merlin started making a mental inventory as to what they had at the lake. No doubt if he gave Mordred some of those trinkets the boy wouldn't need to near starve come winter time.

They swam a bit further down when Merlin grew bored of this part. The next he stopped at held soldiers. This he knew from the familiar garb that also sat at the bottom of their lake. The soldiers were usually the most common human they saw. Often thinking they could fight their way across, they took the boat, but soon found they were mistaken.

"There's Arthur," Merlin pointed.

The blonde was speaking to a group of his knights around him. Motioning to the houses here and there in his speech while villagers bowed around him.

"And him." It was barely spoken. More breathed as Mordred fixed his eyes onto a knight lounging in a tavern doorway.

"He was there?"

Mordred nodded. "He killed one of the elders."

A smiling man hung his arm around the knight. Drunk, the man slurred something apparently abhorrent and found himself pushed face first into the dirt. The knight wasted no time in kicking over the fallen man to a surprising lack of resistance. No one was coming to that man's rescue, and while Merlin didn't care much for the man himself with each kick Merlin found himself fighting the urge to call him over.

"Did you care for the elder?"

Mordred gazed at him, scrutinising what was going on, what Merlin was getting at. "He was the one teaching me magic."

"Wait here," Merlin ordered.

It took looking further down before he encountered a lone knight. Calling the man over he stripped him of his cloak and sent him on his way. Back with Mordred he covered the boy as best he could.

"Act pitiful," Merlin said and helped the boy out.

 _'What if Arthur sees me?'_

 _'Then he sees you, and he sees the enemies he's made by attacking you.'_

It was truly a brilliant performance. Instead of going for the knight Mordred went straight for Arthur. The druid mark was plain to see through the gap in the knight's cloak. That, coupled with the fact Arthur seemed to know Mordred, had him crouching and checking Mordred over. Merlin always knew Arthur was a kind man, he had never called them names through the ice nor purposefully tried to kill them. But he never knew how little he cared about his father's laws as he did when he saw how concerned he was over Mordred.

The boy was clutched close, tears streaming down his face, as Arthur ordered the knight over. A struggle with Mordred later and the knight was kneeling in front of Arthur, begging the prince for something Merlin couldn't hear.

The other knights took a hold of the begging man as Arthur started up the slope to his castle with Mordred. They seemed to be having the same thought as Mordred turned panicked eyes over to Merlin. While he agreed Mordred needed to be with humans, Camelot was probably one of the most unsafe places to leave him.

It seemed they didn't need to worry long. The drunk that the knight had been attacking caught up with Arthur, and with a few hushed words had Mordred staying with him rather than going to the castle.

 _'What's happening?'_ Merlin asked.

Mordred shrugged as well as he could with the man's hands on his shoulders. Merlin didn't know whether he should intervene or not.

As soon as the knights were out of sight the drunk took Mordred behind some houses. Merlin tried to keep up but lost them as the man went into one of the buildings. Merlin was definitely thinking he should have intervened just as Mordred called him.

 _'Merlin.'_

 _'Where are you?'_ he tried looking around one of the houses.

 _'Where the knights were. The man said there might be people watching.'_ Confused Merlin swam back to where the knights had been.

True enough there was Mordred with the man looking in the water in front of them. Mordred waved as he saw Merlin approach, stripping off his cloak as he climbed into the water again.

The man, Merlin concluded, was either too drunk to see what he was doing or just stupid. He didn't even blink as Merlin helped Mordred onto his back, merely crouched down to get a better look at him.

"I knew I wasn't imagining you," He slurred.

"I don't think you know much of anything in your state," Merlin countered.

The man didn't seem offended as he laughed Merlin's comment away.

"What's your name then beautiful?"

Merlin scoffed at the endearment, "Merlin, and girls are beautiful, so make sure to tell them so if you come visit me."

"I'll make sure I do," the man said, leering his way closer to Merlin. He moved back as the stench of alcohol grew too strong. "What? No kiss? I have just saved that little siren of yours from Arthur's chopping block."

"Arthur wouldn't have hurt him and you know that," Merlin said. If the man was going to flirt with him he may as well try and get him to go to the lake, a meal was a meal after all. "So if you want a kiss, you're going to have to try harder than that."

The silly grin was back on the man's face as he held his hand out. "Gwaine," he introduced. "Just so you know who you'll be kissing when my stories of legendary feats meet your lake."

"We'll see." Merlin shook his hand and dove down the river out of Camelot. Gwaine and Arthur being left behind in the pearly white towers of Camelot.

Mordred left with the promise to look for another Druid clan to stay with. Merlin didn't have high hopes for him. From what he had told him the knights and bandits were raiding all the Druid clans in the area. He doubted there were any left alive by now.

He was proven right when Mordred came to the lake a few days later with a black eye. He was followed by a group of men, all of whom were heavily armed. For a moment Merlin thought that Mordred had brought them as a snack.

 _'Don't do anything, one of them has magic,'_ Mordred warned.

He kept the girls at bay, making sure they were all hidden, as the men came closer to the water.

 _'Who are they?'_

 _'They attacked the camp too.'_ There was a pause, Merlin could hear shuffling and calling from above and when Mordred spoke again there was obvious fear in his voice. _'They think I have whatever they're looking for.'_

 _'Do you know what it is?'_

Another pause as the image of the crystal Mordred had stolen out of Camelot all those years ago fluttered into his mind. _'You don't think it's that, do you?'_

So Mordred didn't know himself... Merlin was in a dilemma as to what to do. On the one hand he could kill the men above, but on the other he really wanted to know what they were after. If it was worth killing all those people and working with the knights of Camelot it must have been worth something.

He took his place in his usual hiding spot. Here, Merlin could see the men as they kicked twigs and pebbles into the water. Muttering amongst themselves while Mordred looked everywhere he could for an escape.

"Are you sure he's here?" One of them asked before near shouting across the water, "I don't see anyone!"

"He's here," Another confirmed. "I saw it in the boy's mind. Pretty stupid to not keep your mind guarded kid."

Mordred just gazed at him. Merlin was, once again, impressed by how cold hearted and calm Mordred could be at times. Even when his own safety was at risk.

"You're all going to die here," He said.

Chuckles sounded up from the rest of the group at Mordred's statement.

"If any of us is going to die here, it's you kid," The sorcerer said, pushing Mordred so he nearly fell into the water. "Now where's Emrys?"

A name Merlin hadn't heard in years. Mordred had mentioned it once at the pool but never again in the countless times he had visited. Merlin wondered if the boy had found Emrys, and if so, why were these men looking for him also?

Merlin wasn't going to get his answer any time soon. Mordred was keeping quiet, and Merlin knew it would take more than a few pushes and hits to get Mordred speaking again. So he decided to help him. He knew, after all, what the men were looking for now and it wasn't all that interesting. If it had been some cursed object he might have let them live long enough to lead him to it. But Emrys? He could just ask Mordred about it when he was safe again.

So he called some merfolk to him and formed a plan.

He said plan, really all it took was a few pretty girls showing off for them and they were being torn apart. The only one who was left at the end of this was the sorcerer and Mordred. An arm firmly across Mordred's neck, he kept the boy captive. Merlin knew Mordred was in no real trouble even as fury rose in him. The sorcerer would be his, he decided, and communicated as such to Mordred.

Merlin knew before the sorcerer overheard the words in Mordred's mind that the boy was on board with that idea. A small smile creeping onto his pale face was the last look the man would get at the boy who's life he had destroyed. With magic helping his movements he turned the two of them around and flung them backwards into the lake. Merlin was careful not to touch Mordred as he ripped the man off and apart.

Mordred was panting, wringing his cloak out, when Merlin hopped up beside him.

"Emrys?" He asked as soon as Mordred caught his breath.

"No one important," Mordred reassured, even as Merlin was getting the feeling he was being lied too. Nevertheless he let the matter drop.


	4. Chapter 4

"There's nowhere else for me to go," Mordred said.

Merlin stopped his healing. Despite this being what Mordred wanted all along the boy didn't seem all that happy to report to Merlin that there was literally no one out there that would take him. Picking up where he left off Merlin thought about his options. He could somehow figure out a way to let Mordred stay by the lake, he didn't know how, but he was sure it could happen. Then there was always Camelot. Even if Mordred wasn't allowed in the city itself there was bound to be someone Merlin could cajole into giving Mordred safe passage to somewhere homely.

"We'll figure something out."

That something being Merlin journeying, once more, into Camelot. He had told Mordred of his plan. While the boy protested, strongly, he let Merlin go with the promise that if he found nothing in Camelot then Mordred would live with Merlin at that lake.

Unluckily for Mordred Merlin encountered Gwaine almost as soon as he surfaced near the market. Again, the man was drunk. Slouching outside of a tavern, he was nursing his jaw while asking people for spare change. That all changed when he saw Merlin. It was like he had been poked in the behind. Shooting onto his feet and charging over to Merlin with a grin the size of Camelot's tower's on his face.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" He purred, leading Merlin to a more quiet space.

"Mordred needs somewhere to stay," Merlin explained. Surprisingly Gwaine stayed quiet through this explanation.

"So what do you want me to do?" He asked.

Merlin shrugged, "If you could find somewhere..."

The way Gwaine's face shut down gave Merlin his answer. There was no place for Mordred. None Gwaine knew of at any rate.

"Or if you could get me some blankets," Merlin settled on. Perhaps he could ask the trees to make some kind of shelter for Mordred when it got colder.

It seemed even blankets were a stretch for Gwaine. The man was out of money. Luckily that was something Merlin could help. Telling Gwaine to wait he rushed back to the lake and fished out anything that looked shiny. Handing them all over he watched as Gwaine's eyes near fell out of their sockets.

It occurred to Merlin as the hour stretched since Gwaine had left that he may not return. Humans weren't much for their promises and greed was something Merlin usually liked to play with to drown them in the first place. Gwaine was probably spending the jewels on drinks or, as the thought came, buying his way out of Camelot. He didn't look like a man who was in this city for the thrill of it. He supposed if the man left without fulfilling his end of the deal Merlin could just track him down. He wouldn't reach another city by nightfall and everyone had to drink sometime.

But it didn't come to that.

Gwaine returned, his arms laden with blankets. He was also casting worried looks over his shoulder every now and then which didn't bode well.

"Thank you," Merlin said. He held his arms out of the blankets, scowling when the man just held them higher.

"These are for a boy, not you, and while I know he doesn't mind water I doubt he'd like to sleep in wet blankets." And Gwaine strode off.

Merlin hissed his name as the man walked down street after street out of Camelot. Still the concerned looks over his shoulder were cast, but the trouble must not have been that bad since he continued to ignore Merlin and walk calmly out of the citadel.

After ten minutes of calling every threat he could think of Merlin let him be. He was rather surprised that the man knew which lake to go to. Even more when he found Mordred straight away. He was downright shocked as the man, rather than leaving, assembled some kind of tent on the lakeside.

"You know how to start a fire don't you?" Gwaine asked.

Mordred just held his hand out and whispered a spell. The nearest log to Gwaine burst into flames, scaring the man, but not enough for him to go.

"Good lad," He said, swallowing down his notable fear and sitting next to the boy again. "What about food? Do you know how to hunt?"

Mordred nodded. "If there's no game, Merlin hunts for me."

Gwaine paled as he turned to Merlin with a horrified look on his face. Sneering at the man he threw a fish off him to show that he wasn't that barbarous.

Calmed, the man skinned the fish for Mordred as he went over the other necessities for surviving. Merlin left them too it when the talk started to bore him. He checked on them every now and then to make sure Mordred hadn't been killed but for the most part let them be. Gwaine didn't look like he was going to harm them.

Around nightfall Merlin pushed himself onto their bank, he kept himself as close to the water he could so as not to dry out from the fire. The other two had no qualms about this and were sat quite comfortably around the roasting fish.

"You don't have to stay," Merlin pointed out.

"I'm not," Gwaine said. "Just making sure you're not going to kill your pet."

Mordred interjected before Merlin could start a fight by shoving a heavy leather pouch into his hands. "It's the gold from the jewellery you gave him. Gwaine said I could have it."

"For emergencies," Gwaine clarified. "I know you can use magic to heal yourself but sometimes it might not be enough. Also," To this Gwaine dug around in his coat for something, "You should probably invest in one of these." It was a dagger, glistening steel with a plain handle. "You never know when it might come in handy. Especially when you're on your own."

Mordred took the dagger, fingering the silver surface before passing it to Merlin. "Where do I get one?"

"I can buy one for you. Nothing fancy, just something you can use," The man promised reaching for the gold on the ground between them.

Merlin hissed his objection and Mordred, quick to respond to Merlin's moods, snatched up the bag before Gwaine could get it.

"I'm trying to keep you safe," Gwaine objected.

"If that's the case then give Mordred your dagger and name the price for a new one."

Gwaine looked like he was going to protest. A smirk broke its way onto his face before he could do so. "You're not very trusting are you?"

"You're all just food to me, trust doesn't even come into it." Merlin took the bag from Mordred, emptying it and counting what was inside. "We'll go tomorrow. If I so much as see you slip one coin into your pocket there'll be one less human in this kingdom."

"Fair enough," Gwaine agreed. He clapped Mordred on the shoulder, sending the boy nearly toppling over, "Looks like I'm spending the night so how about we share that fish out."

True to his word Gwaine bought a dagger the next day in Camelot. To prove his worth Gwaine spoke the loudest he could as he brought the dealer near Merlin. They negotiated a price and Merlin gave over the gold when requested.

Gwaine didn't take his old dagger back. Mordred was disappointed until Merlin took him aside and said this was probably for the best. Gwaine's old dagger was trustworthy, used, Mordred wouldn't have to fear it breaking.

After that Merlin thought Gwaine would go back to his life of Camelot and taverns however, the man surprised both of them by visiting the lake near weekly as summer turned to winter.

"Still not dead yet?" Was always his greeting. Joking every chance he got about how Mordred had survived so long. Merlin would often round the joke back on him by bringing to his attention the fact he was still alive. Showing that his kind didn't always kill people straight away.

Truthfully Merlin had been keeping the rest of his kind away from Gwaine. The man was annoying and talked too much for his own good but he hadn't called the knights on Mordred and Merlin yet. He actually brought supplies sometimes. Firewood he would steal from the villagers when it had been raining too heavily on the lake. New blankets for Mordred when the old ones tore or were stolen by passers by. Although the main reason Merlin didn't let the girls eat Mordred was because the boy had grown attached to Gwaine.

They could do things together that Merlin couldn't. Run around on the grassy banks, stalk animals in the forests, even just playing games over the firelight. It was nice seeing Mordred so happy with Gwaine, despite the fact he brimmed with envy whenever the man was mentioned when it was just the two of them. Sometimes he wondered why Gwaine wouldn't just take Mordred with him.

He was reminded why when Gwaine fell into the water the next time he visited.

The snow had yet to come but the icy chill in the air told them it wouldn't be too long. The water was beginning to freeze on top and the ground could often be found with frost flaking everything it could. Mordred had started staying in his makeshift tent more often during the day. At night he would huddle around his fire or sometimes join Merlin in the water where they used their magic to warm it.

They both heard Gwaine before they saw him. Singing off key at the top of his voice, Merlin almost submerged himself just so he wouldn't have to listen to that tune anymore. A few more notes and he broke out of the bushes, stumbling and swaying his way along the frosted grass to where Mordred and Merlin were lounging. The stench of alcohol came off him in waves and it didn't surprise Merlin when one wrong foot tripped him.

"Should we help him?" Mordred asked.

Merlin considered the flailing arms as they finally grasped the bank.

"I think he's fine."

He helped Mordred out of the water, lifting himself up in the process as he watched Gwaine try and do the same. Three minutes of this and another four falls Mordred came to Gwaine's rescue.

It took him stripping naked and a roaring fire to get Gwaine to stop shivering enough to talk. Thankfully the water had sobered him somewhat so his speech wasn't so incomprehensible.

"Still not dead yet?" He asked Mordred.

"Merlin likes me," Mordred said, he draped another blanket around Gwaine's shoulders. "Which is more than I can say for you now you've done this."

"This?" Merlin's lip curling was all it took for Gwaine to get what had annoyed the merman. "The drinking. In my defence I've had a hard few days."

"I'm sure," Merlin drawled.

He made sure Mordred was sitting close to him as Gwaine started swaying again.

"The prince had me thrown in the stocks again. Something about upsetting a few of his knights," Gwaine explained.

"So you thought you'd drink your troubles away and come to a mermaid infested lake? You do realize how easy it would be to kill you," Merlin pointed out.

Gwaine just shrugged. Death didn't seem to be that big of a threat to him.

"What did you do to his knights?" Mordred asked, his eyes alight with curiosity.

"Called a couple of them names." Gwaine grew silent in thought before continuing, "I also may have punched one of them."

"You punched a knight?" Curiosity was replaced by awe as Mordred became more invested in Gwaine's antics.

"That one that attacked you," Gwaine remembered and suddenly Merlin didn't seem all that angry with Gwaine.

"What did he say?" Merlin guessed. It was as good a guess as any as to why Gwaine picked a fight.

"Just some prattle about a raid. Apparently they had caught another sorcerer in Camelot. I asked them whether they were sure he was what they said he was or whether they were just looking to redeem themselves after their shaming."

"He made the first move?" Merlin completed.

Gwaine nodded, "Naturally. I managed to break one of their noses before reinforcements came. The prince wasn't too happy with me."

"I'm surprised he didn't have you killed," Mordred noted.

Here Gwaine smirked, "If the king had been well I probably would have been. Thankfully his highness is more forgiving than his father and simply warned me to keep my head down. I think he has a soft spot for me, like some other creature I know."

Merlin snapped his teeth at him.

"Speaking of soft spots," Gwaine said, changing the conversation. "What are you going to do with him?"

Merlin didn't even need to hear Gwaine say it. The topic had been weighing on his mind ever since he agreed to let Mordred camp next to him.

"Has Camelot got snow yet?"

Gwaine shook his head, "Should be coming soon."

Soon turned out to be that night. Merlin had been drifting at the bottom of the lake as the first shout went up. Snow, the first fall of winter. The lake would be frozen in a matter of days. The streams less than that.

Knowing he had little time he roused Mordred and urged the boy to hurry as he packed everything he could carry.

Gwaine, having guessed what Merlin was planning, took the rest of the supplies with the promise to meet up with them later. Merlin doubted he would see the man until Spring but he appreciated the gesture.

The pool was still unguarded when Merlin emerged into it. Camelot's waters were naturally warmer than those outside so Merlin knew he needn't fear being frozen under it.

"This was a stupid idea," Mordred said for the seventh time since he realized where they were headed.

"It's the only idea I have. Would you rather freeze to death?"

"No, but I might not have. I've been surviving so long by the lake, you're going to have to trust that I can look after myself someday," Mordred argued.

"I do. But when it comes to surviving winter at my home I know what's right, and I know you wouldn't have made it. The animals are all hibernating, the plants are all dead. I can't go to different streams to get you fish Mordred, and then there's the people. You know the lake gets more visitors when the water's frozen. Do you honestly want a knight finding you? The prince? Or even bandits, I know they wouldn't hesitate to steal or hurt you if you were there. Think about it Mordred, even when you were living with the Druids, did they just take winter as it came or did they prepare?"

He knew he had won when Mordred turned away from him. The pout was visible on his face as he dried and made a nest out of the blankets they had brought.

"Are you going to leave me here?" Was asked after a while.

"Why would I do that?"

This time Mordred was the one talking sense. "You realize the way back to the lake is gone? You're trapped here until Spring. I know your kind Merlin, sooner or later you're going to get hungry. What are you going to eat?"

Merlin scowled as the flaws in his plan started to show.

"There has to be guards around here. One or two over the next few weeks shouldn't cause too much suspicion," He concluded.

Mordred scoffed and turned away again. He didn't seem to share the same optimism Merlin had about his meal plan.

"You could always fetch me something," Merlin hedged. "I can scout some of the passages, see which ones lead to the kitchens. A suspicious boy running around should lead one or two servants to me. Or even just a cat, I doubt I'll be too picky in a couple of weeks."

Mordred stayed in a mood with him the next couple of days. He broke the third morning when he came back from the kitchens, arms laden with food, to tell Merlin that the streams had frozen over. Apparently he had heard it from a maid who had went skating the day before.

With no way to escape Camelot for either of them Mordred started coming up with plans help keep the pair of them alive.

Day five and boredom had set in.

Merlin could no longer lounge in the sun, or swim with the others. He had mastered all the magic Mordred knew about and had no way to obtain new spells for the pair of them. The risk of sending Mordred out more than once a day meant that the boy too was trapped.

Day six and Merlin had taken his routine swim along Camelot's watery passages when he heard it. A tune. Not the best music that could be played but music nonetheless. Following the sound he came up in the dungeons.

It was a place he had started to avoid. Waste was filtered out through the water meaning it was unpleasant to look at never mind swim through. Merlin suffered through it anyway and tried his best to locate the string instrument.

He found it as one of the guards walked the length of the dungeons. Checking on his prisoners he set the lute down as he opened the steel door. That was all Merlin needed. Whispering a spell under his breath he held his hand out as the lute flew into it. Not wasting anymore time than necessary in the dungeons, he swam out of there before the guard could notice anything wrong.

With the lute the days didn't seem that bad anymore. Merlin would sometimes strum a tune himself, but most of the time he taught Mordred how to play it. Having mastered the flute Merlin had no doubt that Mordred could manage another instrument and dedicated at least one hour a day to bringing Mordred up to standard.

"Wrong chord," Merlin said, correcting Mordred's hands before continuing his singing.

"I hope Gwaine's alright," Mordred commented. His hands didn't stop their playing and since it wasn't a question Merlin didn't pause his singing either. "Do you think we should have gave him some gold? At least then he could have paid for a bed for the night."

"He would have spent it all on alcohol," Merlin said around his tune. "Besides, Gwaine's not wanted in this city. I'm sure he's fine."

"I guess," Mordred conceded. He filled the silence again with idle castle gossip he heard from his food run.

Even if he didn't know who was who around the castle Mordred seemed to find life here interesting. At night he would spin tales of knights in tournaments or tales of Arthur's latest quest. Apparently the blonde had gotten into a bit of trouble with a sorcerer, as usual, and was saved by a common man.

"He's living in the castle while he recovers," Mordred told. "One of the maids said he was better with a sword than Arthur."

"Let's hope he's smarter as well then," Merlin remarked with chuckles from Mordred.

Day ten had Mordred running into their room, his eyes wide and movements frantic as he dumped a rather large dog into Merlin's pool. Taking the dog for what it was, food, he tucked in. He had only just finished when Mordred jumped into the water himself, pushing Merlin's head back under water as footsteps sounded close by.

"I saw him come in here," Someone said.

Merlin waited until the last possible second before dragging Mordred under with him.

The man who had followed Mordred cast a brief look into their water before his torch was turned to the rest of the room.

"It's just a dog," Another man said.

"A royal hound," The first snapped. "If Arthur finds out one was stolen it's going to be double patrols for everyone."

Sounds of things being knocked over and footsteps pacing from one end of the room to the other carried to the water. Mordred was starting to struggle. Merlin knew the right thing to do would be to move him into another room. The only thing was that he didn't know what Mordred had done with his things. If they were found...

Taking the risk Merlin brought Mordred into the nearest air pocket, telling him to stay, as he went back and made sure they wouldn't be discovered.

"... Or we could blame it on Lancelot," One of them suggested. It seemed their plans had shifted from trying to find the dog.

"Good idea. If he's caught stealing from the castle there's no way Arthur can keep him as a knight."

"I mean, it's not like we're blaming him out of spite," They tried to justify.

"Of course not. He was bound to make a mistake somewhere, it's what happens when a peasant becomes a knight," The other agreed.

"We're really just doing Lancelot a favour..."

The voices were fading, and as Merlin poked his head up he saw the torch disappear out of sight.

Waiting a few minutes to make sure they were gone, he brought Mordred back into their room.

 _'You got caught,_ ' Merlin noted. He didn't want to risk saying it out loud in case they were still in hearing distance.

 _'The dog put up a bit of a fight. Next time I'll get something easier,'_ Mordred promised.

 _'No,'_ Merlin objected. _'Next time I'm getting the food. We can't risk you going out again for a while.'_

 _'But how-'_

 _'Just leave it to me._ ' It was better for him to risk his neck than Mordred anyway.

His plan consisted of seating himself in an open passageway and singing until someone came near. Merlin loved how his voice could call almost anyone to do his bidding. This time it attracted a serving girl. Brown hair and looking a bit harried she nevertheless did as she was told as Merlin continued his song.

The pattern continued for the couple of days he told Mordred to lay low. Merlin would get someone to fetch him food, and on the third day of this he even ate himself.

"You're sure no one will notice a knight missing?" Mordred asked, amusement in his voice.

"Of course. At first they'll think he's on a drinking binge. Then they'll start asking around, seeing if anyone's seen them. By the time someone discovers he's actually gone we'll be back at the lake," Merlin waved off.

Mordred just rolled his eyes.

Sounds of merriment reached them a week later. Loud drunken shouts mixed with soft tunes and women squealing.

"Yuletide," Mordred told him.

The twelve day festival had begun.

It turned out it was easier during Yule for the pair of them to move around. Mordred didn't have to fear being caught, with servants rushing everywhere they barely spared a glance at him. Merlin enjoyed himself most pleasantly with the extra bodies running around the castle. A serving boy or two as the festival went on was more than enough to keep him happy.

The thing that really brought a smile to both their faces was when Mordred came back mid-week with Gwaine on his heels.

"Still not dead?" He greeted.

Merlin shrugged joking that, "It's the festival, it's making me generous."

"Ah, of course."

Gwaine hadn't came empty handed. A rope led pig in one hand and a picnic basket in the other kept the three of them sated through the night.

"I heard you singing Merlin," Gwaine explained when Merlin asked how he had found them. "After that it was a simple matter of hanging around the kitchens and waiting for Mordred to show up."

"And the black eye?" Merlin asked.

Gwaine rubbed absent-mindedly at his bruise. "Another tavern fight. Don't worry yourself about it."

"Oh I wasn't," Merlin reassured. "I was just making sure you weren't bringing any trouble our way."

The sheepish look that came over Gwaine told Merlin that there might be trouble coming despite his words. However he let the matter drop.

The day turned to evening with Gwaine regaling them of his Yuletide tales. Consisting of some rather unsavoury courting lines and more alcohol than could be good for the man. What was most surprising was the fact that Merlin was in one of Gwaine's stories.

"... People have been travelling from the outer villages to hear you. I can't help but wonder what has you in such a singing mood."

Merlin cast his mind back to his attempts to feed Mordred and also the lute he had the boy play to him every day.

"You've been with us for a while Gwaine," Mordred remarked. "Surely you must know by now that singing is what a merperson does."

"True," The man conceded. "But if you don't want people to start looking for you I suggest keeping quiet for a while."


	5. Chapter 5

Merlin should have heeded Gwaine's warning. A few days after it had been said a knight found them.

Merlin had been singing along to one of Mordred's tunes as a foreign torch created shadows on the wall. Not thinking, he grabbed Mordred and dragged him under the water. The boy struggled as the breath was knocked out of him, until the shout of the knight reached them.

"I know what you are!"

The pair of them froze as the light appeared above them. Merlin brought them both down to the bottom of the pool, considering darting into the next one as a sword narrowly missed his arm. Hissing, he tried the other way only for the sword to corner him there as well.

"Show yourself!"

Not having any other choice he flung Mordred to the bottom so he would rise up first. The sword was waiting for him as he emerged. Grazing his neck as soon as it was visible. Following the steel road he glared right back at the doe brown eyes staring at him.

"You know I could kill you if I wished it," Merlin began.

The sword dug deeper into his skin as Mordred finally splashed to the surface. Merlin used the knights shock to make sure Mordred was alright before giving his attention back to the matter at hand.

"Release the boy," the knight ordered, holding his hand out for Mordred. "Quick before the creature takes you again."

Merlin knew without looking that Mordred was staying put. The knight grew more and more frustrated with each second passing and no Mordred joining him.

"Don't you know what his kind do to us?"

"The same as you do to mine I imagine," Mordred snapped.

Taking control of the situation Merlin offered, "You have no business with us knight. Go now and no one will be harmed today."

"Harmed? You've been eating people for weeks! I'm not going to let you kill another one, so hand the boy over," the knight scolded.

Merlin thought he might have considered the man more threatening if he hadn't looked around at a clatter. Merlin tried to fight the smirk on his face, he really did, as well as the laughter that followed but it was just too hard.

"Go back to your prince Lancelot," Merlin said.

Whatever confidence he had left with Merlin saying his name. "How do- just hand the boy over," he said trying to regain his composure.

Merlin batted the sword from his throat, swimming out of its reach as he goaded, "He doesn't want to leave. As for you, there's no way you can reclaim your knighthood by slaying me. Sure, I've ate people, but who was it that let me in here? I certainly can't verify that I came here voluntarily if I'm dead, and I know Mordred will say you did it as soon as he's caught."

"They'll never believe you," Lancelot protested, his voice wavering with uncertainty as he looked between Merlin and Mordred.

"Oh but they will. What other reason would I have for being here than to save your failing reputation? "

Merlin seemed to have underestimated this knight as his hand steadied and eyes set. "Have the boy say what you like. So long as only one life is saved from my deed I don't give a damn about my reputation."

"Time to go," Merlin announced as he lunged at Mordred. He swam them through tunnels as a splash sounded behind him, signalling Lancelot trying to follow them.

He was shocked when gasping came not only from Mordred. Lancelot had kept pace and didn't look like he was giving up quickly. Thinking fast, Merlin went where he knew no sane person would venture without preparation.

The dragon was dozing on his rock. The way he started as Merlin near threw Mordred onto the ground below him showed they weren't expected. Thankfully the dragon didn't shoo them out. In fact, he stepped down from his rock when Lancelot surfaced and scared the man off with a well placed roar.

As the last echo faded the dragon took up his perch. A stern gaze was sent to Merlin while Mordred became non-existent to the massive creature.

"You should be more careful in future. Even I could hear your singing from my cave," the dragon berated.

"Sorry." Somehow being told from a dragon he was being reckless really made it sink in. "You don't mind if we hide in here for a while do you?"

"I'm afraid that's not possible, as much as I would have liked to say yes. Lancelot has seen you in here. This, and your little hideaway will be the first place he looks again. I have a feeling there may be guards put there as well." The dragon looked around as if he could see through the caves walls. "My advice would be to use this reprieve, while Lancelot is fetching Arthur, to seek out another tunnel. One more obscure than the last if you can manage it."

Knowing he was right Merlin did just that.

It turned out there weren't many pools under Camelot. Sure, there was one long stream but a steam couldn't house a human. It took three hours before Merlin found the perfect spot. He waited to fetch Mordred last, instead, he made sure the coast was clear and fetched what he could from their previous hiding spot.

Mordred was surprisingly unhappy with Merlin's choice of room. He didn't seem bothered by it when they first emerged. Yet when the boy came back from scouting where about in Camelot they were he was decidedly sour.

"We're in the water supply," he complained.

"So?"

"So, this place is probably checked daily. Then there's the fact I can't even go outside anymore." They had established that when the dragon warned Merlin Lancelot would be on the lookout for him.

"So what do you suggest?"

He was open to any ideas right now.

"I think we should move onto land," Mordred proposed.

"Really?" Merlin asked, he merely had to flash his tail in order to show Mordred the fault in his plan.

"The dragon thought it was a good idea," Mordred said. Merlin was surprised, as far as he knew the dragon couldn't stand Mordred. For them to be conspiring together... "I remember a few rooms visiting nobility use. No one goes in any other time of the year so we don't have to worry about people walking in on us. It's also land, somewhere Lancelot will definitely not think about looking for you."

"And the fact I can't survive out of water...?" Merlin inquired.

"There's a spell that could apparently help... but the dragon wouldn't tell me it. So I thought we could steal a bathtub. Use magic to... we'll figure something out," he finished desperately. Mordred had been thinking hard about this.

"The dragon agreed with this plan?"

Mordred nodded.

Which is how Merlin found himself being transported in a floating bathtub in the middle of the night to a room as far away from water as it could get. They had a close call when a patrol strode down one of the hallways. Luckily, there was a room not far from them they could hide in while the guards passed.

Merlin had to admit that while the room was wholly impractical for one of his kind, for Mordred, it couldn't be better. There was a bed that had Mordred sleeping in until well past noon the following day. A wide expanse of space he could comfortably lounge in. A fireplace to keep himself warm and trinkets someone must have left behind to keep Mordred occupied for hours.

"I've seen these," Mordred crowed as he brought the wooden board over to Merlin. "It's a game. Checks or something. Do you think Gwaine knows how to play?"

"I don't know. We'll take it with us when we leave and ask him," Merlin proposed. They ended up making their own game out of it. With rules that changed each time one of them thought they were losing.

It was a long few weeks cooped up in Camelot's tower. Merlin was on edge whenever Mordred went out, and the boy didn't help matters. He came back constantly with tales of near exposure. Security had tightened in the castle, with knights performing hourly raids in all of Camelot's waters. It seemed Mordred was right about moving them up here in any case.

Things became tense when they heard arguing near their room. It was Lancelot... And Gwaine. For one cold moment Merlin thought the man had betrayed them to the knight. But hen he remembered that Gwaine didn't know where they were. Which begged the question as to why he was there?

Mordred seemed to have reached the same conclusion as he crept closer to the door.

 _'Lancelot's asking about us,'_ Mordred relayed. _'Someone told him about Gwaine taking me out of the kingdom'_

 _'Do you think Gwaine will tell on us?'_

Mordred made a pausing motion as he listened.

 _'He's denying everything-'_

Slam!

Mordred backed away from the door as Lancelot grew rougher with his questioning. They didn't have to listen at the door anymore, the pair of them were loud enough to be heard at the lake.

"-People's lives are at stake!"

"And I keep telling you, if I knew where they were I'd tell you. You know, just because you're a knight, it doesn't give you the right to treat me like this."

"Like this? I'm doing you a kindness. I could have told Arthur, and while he's merciful I doubt the knights interrogating you will be the same. So stop protecting it and tell me where that creature's hiding."

"... He's in one of the old storage rooms near the dragons cave."

Another slam accompanied with a groan.

"Everyone knows that. It's where I found them, what I want to know is where they are now." A pause and Lancelot's tone considerably lowered, "Please, I know you know something."

"I'm sorry, I really don't."

Scuffling sounded before footsteps started fading from their room.

 _'See if you can grab Gwaine,'_ Merlin said.

Mordred peered out, and within seconds Gwaine was stumbling into their room. The man fell the rest of the way to the floor when he saw who had nabbed him.

"Merlin! What the- how long have you been here? Wait, you didn't just...?" he motioned to the events that had happened.

"Good to know where your loyalties lie," Mordred grinned,

"Even if they're wrong," Merlin added.

Gwaine just shrugged and perched himself on the edge of Merlin's bath. "It's not like I actually lied to the man. You two don't exactly clue me in to where you're going."

Gwaine stayed the night with them, telling about his latest stint with the law. It mostly consisted of being trailed by Lancelot and despite the stigma Gwaine had about all knights he admitted that he wasn't a bad man. Even gentle with the lack of bruises Gwaine had.

"So how bored are you?" Gwaine asked when Mordred went to bed.

"I think I've lost all function in my tail," Merlin noted.

"How's the kid taking it?" Gwaine choked out through his laughter.

"He..."

Truthfully Mordred wasn't happy. He hadn't been since they left the lake. Merlin wondered if it was some thought about Merlin just leaving him here in Camelot. Or, like him, whether Mordred was feeling the brick walls of Camelot too confining. Too far away from the pull of magic that lived and breathed in nature.

"He's looking forward to Spring," Merlin finished.

"I'm sure," Gwaine said.

He left in the morning with the promise to bring Mordred something sweet to eat. The weeks went by and before long Gwaine was bursting through the door and telling them the waters were melting.

With that established, they formed a plan.

Although most of the knights had given up the search for Merlin that didn't mean all of them had. Lancelot had gotten Arthur's attention with his merfolk stories. He had been on the lookout for weeks for any trace of Merlin, from people disappearing to the singing that rang around the hallways.

Eventually they settled on a plan much like the one that brought them up here. They moved at night, with Mordred helping to move Merlin with his magic.

It was all going rather well. They hadn't encountered anyone, until they came to the water with which Merlin was to swim in.

There, waiting for them, was Arthur. His sword was drawn as soon as he saw them with Lancelot and another knight following suit.

"I told you," Lancelot said.

"So you did," Arthur conceded.

Retreat was impossible. Merlin didn't trust Arthur not to have knights closing them in as he spoke.

The blonde turned his attention to Gwaine, betrayal in his eyes. "You are a loyal citizen of Camelot. You know the laws Gwaine. Consorting with sorcerers..."

"A small boy who's been hunted all his life and a creature trying to keep him alive, yes, they're villains," Gwaine snarled.

 _'I can distract them long enough to get us to the water,'_ Merlin said.

 _'Gwaine won't be able to swim as fast,'_ Mordred noted.

 _'Then I'll sing long enough for the two of you to get ahead before catching up with you,'_ Merlin amended.

"Step aside Gwaine," Arthur ordered, still trying to cause the least amount of harm.

 _'Do it now,'_ Mordred said.

Within the first few notes Arthur and his men had dropped their swords and stood slack-jawed as their will was stripped from them. Mordred had the sense to cover his ears and between them they managed to get all three of them into the water.

The cold splash snapped Gwaine out of his trance, and with a gesture from Mordred he too covered his ears. True to his word Merlin stayed as he waited until the two of them had swam a good distance from the ambush. Once he was assured of their safety he made off himself.

It took magic to clear the whole way back to the lake. Gwaine had gotten out as soon as he could to walk the rest of the way. No one would be following them for a while.

Mordred's old lodgings were destroyed. The snow had put holes where there were none. It had become so brittle that the material broke as Gwaine tried to look it over.

"We should have brought more from the castle," Gwaine noted.

"Can't you go back and get them?" Mordred asked.

A shadow came over Gwaine, realization about what it is that had just happened. "I don't think I'm welcome in Camelot anymore."

"Neither are we," Merlin pointed out, "Yet we've just spent two months there. Don't tell me you're scared?"

"'Course not." Gwaine scoffed. "But I think a few days might be needed."

Life in exile didn't agree with Gwaine. For one, there were no taverns. No alcohol even. That didn't say Gwaine was dependent on alcohol to function. Actually, once completely dry Gwaine was sharper than Merlin had ever seen him. Witty, observant and with more wisdom Merlin had originally thought possible of Gwaine. Yet even as Merlin and Mordred liked this new Gwaine the man himself didn't.

Within three days he ventured back into Camelot on the pretence of fetching blankets for a new tent. He came back that night with the blankets and his breath reeking.

"How long do you think before knights come down here?" Mordred asked.

They were both watching Gwaine attempt to put a tent up.

"Two weeks," Merlin bet.

"Why is he like this?"

Merlin shrugged, "Usually men who want to run from their problems turn to drink. We've had quite a few come here. Some of them even willingly let us take them."

"It's going to get him killed."

"Perhaps that's what he wants." At Mordred's frown he elaborated, "I'm not exactly knowledgeable about looking after humans."

A weary sigh escaped Mordred's mouth. "I'm fifteen in five months Merlin. A man. You don't need to be knowledgeable about humans in order for me to survive."

Merlin appraised the boy. Sure, he was looking more adult than when he had first came to Merlin but the age of fifteen.

"When I was your age my mother kept me tied to the rocks so I wouldn't swim off. Fifteen is still a child's age."

"Which is where we differ," Mordred concluded. "I could live on my own should I choose so."

"Then why do you stay?" Merlin asked.

"Because I like you," Mordred said. "I feel a connection to you. My magic, it calls out to yours whenever it's near enough. Not to mention you would be dead if it weren't for me," Mordred finished with a smirk on his face. "I doubt you could have survived winter without me bringing food for you."

His own words thrown back in his face. Merlin couldn't help but laugh.

"Living with Gwaine will be good for you," Merlin said, and left him to help Gwaine out of his stupor.

When the knights did come for them, Gwaine set traps around the lake. Not only did he deliver some of them into the water for Merlin and the others to eat but he negotiated a treaty with Arthur. Gwaine was henceforth exiled from Camelot for conspiring with sorcerers, to this Mordred laughed at, but Arthur would not harm them should they stay at the lake.

Gwaine took that as permission from the king to stay at Merlin's lake as long as possible. He still sneaked in and out of Camelot, sometimes with either Merlin or Mordred, and quite often spent what little gold he had won off strangers at the tavern. Yet when summer came and Mordred did indeed turn fifteen Gwaine was still with them.

Winter that year consisted of Merlin scouting streams for days before finding an abandoned castle. There was wildlife still awake around them, and clean water filtering through the castle so they wouldn't fear thirst. The only problem they truly had when the three of them moved in was keeping warm.

The firewood was wet from the snow, and what little was left in the castle proved pointless to burn. Mordred and Merlin tried as many spells as they could to keep some warmth in the castle, but by midwinter they had decided that it would be best to just steal firewood from surrounding villages.

Spring, and they were back on the lake. Gwaine still stayed and Mordred still grew. When his birthday came again Merlin was surprised to find himself digging through the discarded human things for something to give him. Gwaine had said it was what humans did on birthdays, and proved so last year when he gifted Mordred with a new dagger.

He managed to find a breastplate. Gold plated and intact with jewels he remembered seeing on a similar sword. Merlin tried his best to find it, but had a suspicion that if it did still exist in the lake it was most likely torn apart and used as hairpieces for the girls.

"This must be worth... thank you," Mordred grinned.

Catching where Mordred cut himself off Merlin offered, "Get gold from it if you wish and buy yourself something. The breastplate is highly impractical."

"But pretty," Gwaine commented, he was fingering a ruby. "Wear one of these and people will think you a prince Mordred."

"In that case, I'm definitely selling it," Mordred said and took the breastplate back from Gwaine.

It was with the knights coming down to the lake in Autumn that the three of them remembered Camelot, and life outside the lake.

They didn't cross, merely used the grassy banks alongside it to reach Mordred's camp.

"We've heard you know the way to the Isle of the Blessed," Lancelot started.

His sword was still sheathed, which was a good start to negotiations. Nevertheless Merlin still called Mordred over as the boy poked his head out of the tent.

"Maybe," Gwaine replied. "But then, lots of people know their way there."

The knight's faces twisted as Lancelot chewed out, "None that Arthur trust."

"Trust." Merlin thought Gwaine had a right to laugh in their faces. "Now there's something new. Whatever happened to being a traitor of Camelot?"

"The Prince said he would revoke his sentence if you helped him in this quest."

The knights around Lancelot were growing more sour the longer he spoke. Merlin wondered why when they had probably all heard this from the Prince's mouth himself.

"Quest... and what might that be then?" Gwaine mused.

"You'll be briefed should you agree and not a moment beforehand," One of the knights' snapped.

"Or I'll be briefed now." Gwaine countered. "I'm not going to walk into something blind. For all I know this could be a trap to lour me into Camelot. One foot and you have the right to kill me."

To this Lancelot scoffed, "Please, you've been sneaking into Camelot for months." At Gwaine's shocked face he elaborated, "You honestly don't remember playing cards with me?"

Awareness crept onto Gwaine, "Damn."

"Exactly. Now get off your backside and do your duty for your prince," Lancelot grinned, decidedly more happy now he had managed to pull one over on Gwaine.

"What if I don't want to go?"

Merlin was surprised to see a glance towards Mordred at that question. Like him, the man had taken it upon himself to make sure Mordred was alright. With a quest of unknown length and winter not far off...

"We wouldn't ask if we weren't desperate," Lancelot countered.

Gwaine left with the knights before nightfall, leaving Mordred, once again, alone with a horde of merfolk.


	6. Chapter 6

"Merlin!"

He surfaced and hopped onto the bank beside Mordred. It had been eight days since Gwaine had left and the man liked to remind them of this fact by sending them letters daily.

"What does this one say?" He asked.

Mordred unrolled the small scroll. The bird that had carried it was relaxing in a tree not far from here. It would take some coercing to get it down again and back to Gwaine.

"He says they've just made it onto the Isle. There's wyvern's everywhere, and Lancelot took ill when one of them caught his shoulder. Other than that he's just complaining about the company." A small part had Mordred sniggering and the boy didn't hesitate to show Merlin the new name Gwaine had made up for Arthur that day. "It sounds like he's having fun."

"Wish you'd went with him?" Merlin asked.

Mordred shrugged, his fingers still tracing over Gwaine's words showing more than words ever could. "It must be interesting to be a knight. Quests, castles..."

"Women, Arthur, laws," Merlin finished. Still, while it wasn't a life for him he could see how Mordred might idolize a knight. They were meant to stand as the most trusted and loyal humans had to offer. "You should aim higher. A knight isn't a worthy station for you."

"You're always nice to me," Mordred grinned.

The next day there was no letter from Gwaine. Nor the day after. Merlin watched as Mordred grew concerned the third day Gwaine didn't write.

The fourth and Merlin was trying to keep Mordred's mind off it by taking him for a swim. It wasn't often that Mordred actually swam in their lake. He let Mordred dip his toes in or swim along the sides but never across the middle. For starters he didn't trust the girls not to be mean to him. Sure they had said they wouldn't kill him but they played harder than a normal human did.

Today he trailed as close to Mordred as he could, making sure that the girls didn't try and mess with him as he dove as far down as he could.

A couple of girls giggled as he surfaced. They swarmed around him, batting their eyes and twirling their hair. Mordred blushed under their looks, and Merlin laughed as another girl tried to swim alongside him. He had to stop Mordred from drowning as a girl ran her hand along his stomach.

Still in shock but able to breathe again Mordred asked whether they could stick to the sides.

"They're just teasing you," Merlin assured.

"I wish they would tease a different way," Mordred muttered.

Merlin let him go as they neared the bank. He still kept an eye on Mordred as he made his way across the lake. However, there was something else that had caught his interest. A smell, odd and familiar at the same time. He tried peering around the trees, but with a limited view it was hard to see what was lurking.

The smell persisted as Mordred finished his lap. Yet as he made to get out Merlin stopped him. Right now, Merlin would take Mordred complaining the rest of the night than let Mordred near that unknown smell.

The girls took Mordred straight away. One of them letting him rest on their stomach as the others played with his hair. A look of utmost betrayal on his face, Mordred let the girls be as Merlin tried to lure whatever it was out.

A few lyrics and Morgana was walking out of the bushes. Her sister didn't follow, and by the lack of her scent on Morgana Merlin guessed she was dead. The girl herself wasn't looking so great. Her hair was tangled and face paler than it had ever been. What clothes she had were ragged and held together with barely anything. They sagged in parts where she had lost weight and tightened in others where the material shouldn't have stretched.

A splash behind him and Mordred was scrambling up the bank Merlin was seated on. He took in all Merlin did, the affection clear on his face.

Which was why Merlin was surprised when Mordred said, "Don't stop singing. I'll see if I can guide her to the other side."

Merlin complied if only because he was curious.

Once there, Merlin waited for the okay from Mordred. The boy made sure Morgana was facing the other way before he jumped back in the water and told Merlin to join him. Together they watched as Morgana shook off the trance she had been put under.

'Why aren't you with her?' Merlin asked.

Mordred looked funny with his cheeks puffed up from holding his breath. His tone however was, as always, serious. _'If she sees me she might want me to come with her. Remember what Gwaine said._ '

Merlin did. Cut off from Camelot the trials of the human realm didn't really make it down to their lake. When Gwaine agreed to go with the knights he was also welcomed back into a struggling world and reported back bits and pieces along with his complaints. One such bit concerned Morgana. Now an enemy of Camelot, she had made it her ambition to take over the kingdom and bring back magic. Gwaine had told them it wasn't as great as it sounded. She was ruthless, cold and listened to no one but herself. A land ruled by Morgana would be worse than Uther.

Amongst this Gwaine had sent a little bird to them, one they hadn't even expected since they didn't know Gwaine could use this form of communication. Within it he had warned them to keep away from Morgana. She was seeking out anyone or anything that could help her, and Gwaine didn't like the temptation Merlin and Mordred posed.

 _'I thought she was your friend,'_ Merlin commented.

 _'Not if she's just going to use me,'_ Mordred said.

 _'And your debt to her?'_

 _'I don't do debts.'_

Merlin couldn't have been more proud.

When Morgana was gone Mordred contented himself with playing chess against Merlin. Vaguely he wondered if the castle had noticed their missing, solid gold game. But as no one had came down to demand it back yet he figured it was theirs now.

They heard from Gwaine the next day. Apparently the lack of communication was because he had to lay low for a few days. Some bandits had been waiting for them, and since they knew where to wait for them Gwaine assumed that they might try and intercept the birds should they still be watching them.

Worry gone, a fortnight later Gwaine sauntered through the trees with the knights not far behind him.

A jaunty, "Merlin!" was called as the man dragged Mordred out of his tent for a hug. "I'm ready for my kiss now."

"Your what?" Merlin asked as the knights with him snickered.

"He's been going on about it since he saved Arthur from a bandit," Lancelot grinned.

Arthur himself laughed heartily at the reminder, adamantly arguing that, "I hardly needed saving."

"He was about to be skewered by an arrow," Gwaine scorned as he crouched on the grass. "Now then, I'm thinking a full two minutes, but if you want it to be longer..."

"Again, what?" Merlin asked.

A most satisfied look came over Gwaine's face as he reminded Merlin. "When we first met. You said I needed to make a name for myself before I got a taste of those..."

Awareness came over Merlin with a groan. "I can't believe you're holding me to that."

"Of course."

"I could get one of the -"

"Nope," Gwaine negated. Mock hurt came over him, "Am I that repulsive?"

Merlin scoffed, pulling himself up and ignoring the knight's jeers. "One kiss," He warned.

Gwaine took the opportunity granted to him. His hands were wound in Merlin's hair and mouth moving like he didn't need to breathe.

About the time Gwaine tried to stick his tongue in Merlin's mouth he decided to have some fun with the man. Taking control, Merlin turned so he was near lying on Gwaine. With each brief break he shuffled back making Gwaine chase after him.

The knights were chuckling not far off as Merlin turned away, and, taking advantage of Gwaine's distracted mind, pushed him firmly into the water.

Giggles joined the guffaws from the bank as the girls splashed Gwaine when he surfaced. The man really was lacking good judgement since he splashed water back at the girls rather than climbing out.

"There's enough of me to go around ladies," Gwaine jeered. The girls took it in stride and flirted back with him.

Merlin turned back to the knights, all of whom were looking down at the scene. Calling names at Gwaine, joking with him like he hadn't broken the law and had always been one of them. Compared to that Mordred was like a little storm cloud. Standing where Gwaine had left him and, although his face revealed nothing, those cold blue eyes were trained on Merlin with no hint of happiness in them.

He lightened up when Gwaine pulled himself out. The man took Mordred under his arm, dripping on him as Mordred struggled to get away.

"We're going to the tavern to celebrate," Gwaine announced. "Coming with?"

"You mean you are going to the tavern," Arthur corrected. "We have council matters to attend to. A quest isn't complete just because we completed the task."

"No," Lancelot agreed, "There's being checked over by Gaius, retelling our story, the banquet... I'm starting to wish I wasn't a knight."

Despite the sarcasm Merlin knew that to be false. There was nothing Lancelot wanted more than his position beside Arthur.

"Well I suppose it'll just be me and you Mordred," Gwaine said.

"Actually..."

"Come on," He insisted, dragging Mordred along with him as the knights started towards Camelot.

A panicked look at Merlin and he was clutching at Mordred's ankle.

"Sorry Gwaine, you know it's only you that's allowed in Camelot," Merlin appeased, taking Mordred back from the man.

A pout settled on Gwaine's face, but it didn't stop him from following the trail of red along the bank.

Mordred started back to his tent, stopping when the pair of them noticed Arthur still stood on the bank.

"Something you wanted?" Merlin asked.

Arthur walked over to the nest of blankets that made up Mordred's bed. A hiss from Merlin had him staying his hand.

Mordred looked just as lost as he did as to why Arthur was still standing with them instead of his men.

"I didn't hear you this winter," Arthur said.

"Merlin found us somewhere else," Mordred answered.

"Somewhere else..." Arthur repeated. He appraised Mordred, "You don't look underfed."

"I know how to hunt."

Arthur looked like he wanted to say something. Merlin thought it was concern over Mordred, the questions all led to something like that. However, the Prince kept quiet and simply looked over the lake.

"Do you need something?" Merlin asked again.

The Prince stood so long, looking at nothing, that Mordred decided to retreat back into his tent. It seemed this was what Arthur had been waiting for as his eyes snapped from the lake to Merlin. Crouching low, so as not to be overheard, he motioned Merlin towards him.

Merlin considered staying where he was. The Prince was armed. But he was also curious as to what he had to say. So he crawled forward until he was almost nose to nose with him. He expected the Prince to retreat, it turned out the blonde was gutsier than Merlin imagined.

"There's been an accident in one of the royal stables. Not only do we have more horses coming in the winter with nowhere to house them but the injured ones are expected to be put out of their misery."

"You've been away, how can you possibly know this?" Hedged.

Arthur smirked, "Gwaine's not the only one with messengers. So... you understand what I'm telling you?"

"Not really."

"There's horses that need disposing of," Arthur stressed like Merlin was hard of hearing.

"And..."

"Look," Arthur snapped. "Just because I don't approve of sorcery does not mean I want to see Mordred dead. And I know you and Mordred come together so..." He gestured.

"So..." Merlin copied. He knew what Arthur was trying to say. Still, he wanted the satisfaction of having the words come out of Arthur's mouth.

"Just have him there before the snow starts falling," Arthur huffed and stormed off.

Merlin didn't expect Gwaine to come to the lake that night. To be honest, now that his punishment had been lifted Merlin expected Gwaine to move back into Camelot's many drinking houses. Which was why he was surprised when he heard Gwaine's off key singing in the early hours of the morning.

The man was still snoring as Mordred made breakfast. When he finally did wake he spent his day crawling off his hangover.

"Are you going back?" Mordred asked him.

"Back? Camelot?" Gwaine mumbled before he laughed and cringed at his loudness. "I know Arthur said the punishment was gone but there are those who don't agree with him. I fear they may hang me in the middle of the night should I make more than one appearance a day."

"Wonderful," Mordred grumbled but Merlin could see the delight on his face.

That afternoon was one of the last hot days Autumn would give them. Already Merlin could spot grey clouds hovering over the distant hills. The storm would reach them tomorrow or later that night. Now however, the sun was blazing down on the lake and warming everything it touched.

Gwaine had gotten over his hangover as soon as the girls drew themselves up onto the bank. He spent hours flirting with them and Merlin wondered how many of them had insisted that Gwaine was on the no eat list since he most certainly hadn't declared him off limits.

Mordred had brought out the chess set when his interest in doing nothing wore off. Merlin was trying to remember how a knight moved as he felt fingers on his cheek.

Mordred was gazing at him. His eyes set and brows drawn in thought as his fingers traced his skin again.

"Mordred?"

"Sorry." He didn't look sorry. "I keep forgetting... your skin feels just like mine."

"It should," Merlin said, "Otherwise humans would find me repulsive."

"What did Arthur say to you?"

Just like Mordred. When Merlin thought he was going down one path he brought another one into the mix.

"He was inviting us to Camelot this winter," Merlin told. "Apparently he has horses for me to eat."

Mordred looked both concerned and angered even as his fingers still traced Merlin's face. "We're not going are we?"

"Of course not," Merlin scoffed.

"Good," Mordred agreed.

Merlin knew they couldn't go to Camelot. Arthur meant well, Merlin had no doubt about that. However, he knew that the man probably told his knights about the extra guests they were to be receiving. If there was one thing Merlin agreed with Gwaine about it was that the people couldn't be trusted. Arthur couldn't control that many people, and it would only take a few to stage an 'accident' to rid Camelot of a sorcerer and a merman, both of whom should have been impaled on sight.

"If that's all on your mind I'm going for a swim then a nap. If you want another game, see if you can pry Gwaine from his fans. Believe me, he shouldn't spend too much time with them," Merlin warned as he slid into the water.

He didn't stay in long. Just before he checked in with his mother he spotted steel glinting in the far bushes. Arthur was enjoying the last hot day of Autumn like the rest of them. Having brought himself a picnic basket and hiding behind his usual bushes he thought himself hidden. Merlin delighted when he heard the yelp from the prince as he splashed the man.

"Merlin!"

"I didn't know we were on a first name basis Arthur," Merlin quipped.

The Prince stormed out, his shirt speckled with water and hair shining like gold as the drops clung to their strands.

"Did you have to?" He snapped, motioning to the mess Merlin had made of him.

"I don't know why you're so angry. I'm the one who should be suspicious about your appearance. Two days in a row..."

"It's a nice day," The Prince bit out.

Merlin understood. It seemed that even Arthur didn't like the post quest routine, despite his stern words to Gwaine yesterday. "I'm surprised your knights didn't follow you."

"They're not safe and you know it," Arthur countered. "You'd eat them on sight."

Merlin shrugged, "Maybe not all of them. Lancelot for instance, I heard some of the girls talk about him when he came."

Arthur nodded like something clicked into place for him. "So that's how you do it. One of you says to the others, 'not him.'"

"Problem?"

"No," Arthur said. He actually sounded interested in the notion. "So who vouched for me?"

"Who said anyone-"

"Merlin," Arthur sang. "Be serious."

"I did," He sighed. "I like your hair," He teased. "It's such an interesting colour."

Arthur laughed loud enough to be heard by those on the other side of the lake. "I'd hardly call it interesting."

"Not to you," Merlin countered. "But to others... think of it like my tail. I don't think it's interesting, but you should see Mordred's face whenever it's on show. Now, I have a nap to get to, so if there's no specific reason as to why you're here I'll take my leave." The whole thing with telling Arthur why he chose to make him immune was making him uncomfortable.

"Wait," Arthur protested and disappeared behind his bushes. Coming back with his picnic basket he thrust it into Merlin's hands. "Make sure it doesn't get too wet. I doubt Mordred would like soiled food."

"You sure do spoil him," Merlin teased, even as he delivered the basket.

The sun made him drowsy, and soon all thoughts of Arthur watching them from the other side left his mind.

A light breeze cooled the water still on him. Merlin moved his thoughts about the storm to that evening. The colour of the clouds he last glimpsed showed that the storm would be a bad one. He hoped Gwaine had the sense to get Mordred somewhere sheltered. At least far away enough to not be waterlogged should the lake burst.

He felt Mordred's fingers return to his cheek. The boy caused no need for him to stir so Merlin let him do as he wished.

"Why is Arthur here again?" The words were more breathed against him. Merlin didn't think as to how close Mordred was to him until then.

"You ate his food, shouldn't you know?"

Mordred didn't respond.

"He likes to watch us sunbathe," Merlin told him.

 _'Is that all?'_ was whispered in his mind.

 _'All? What more is there?'_ If Mordred was forgoing words then so was he. The strength to speak was waning anyway as his nap called him onwards.

 _'You two were rather close yesterday.'_ Mordred's fingers abandoned his face to stroke along his neck. Merlin would be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying the attention.

 _'The idiot thought it would give us a realm of privacy. Rather stupid since he probably knew I'd tell you about our conversation.'_

 _'Are you sure that's all?'_

Merlin didn't know what Mordred expected out of him. All he did know was that something was weighing on his mind.

"Mordred," he tried, opening his eyes to see Mordred's scanning every inch they could reach with their limited view.

"Merlin," Mordred said back as his eyes closed and, for the second time in two days, Merlin was kissed.

While the kiss itself was a shock, even more so was the name whispered in his mind as Mordred breathed his name.

 _'Emrys.'_


	7. Chapter 7

"Emrys?" Merlin asked when Mordred was finished with him.

"What?"

There was a haziness to Mordred's eyes, clearing when he realized what Merlin was talking about. After that, there was a moment where Merlin saw actual fright on Mordred's face before it softened into a neutral expression.

"Aren't you more interested in the fact I just kissed you?" He tried.

Rolling his eyes, he pushed Mordred back so he could sit up properly. "You're at that stage in life. I would be lying if I said I hadn't expected something like this sooner. Now why did you call me Emrys? Or did you?" He peered around the lake for anyone new.

The girls were still plaiting Gwaine's hair, and there, on the far bank, was Arthur still watching them. No one Merlin hadn't seen before. He even smelled the air to make sure there wasn't anyone hidden in the bushes surrounding them.

"I didn't."

Denial it was. Luckily, Merlin knew how to play this.

"So how was it?" He asked.

"It?" Mordred frowned, confused as to the direction the conversation had took.

"Our kiss," Merlin clarified.

A bit of the haziness returned as suspicion drew Mordred's brows. "It..."

"You should have mentioned your interest. I'm not opposed to helping you practice seducing future mates," He made sure to purr the last of his words, drawing closer to Mordred as he spoke.

"Future mates..."

A nice blush had stole its way onto Mordred's cheeks.

"I can't keep you to myself forever."

Arms firmly wound around Mordred's neck, he softly pulled the boy onto him. Mordred gasped as their chests aligned. It seemed he only had the guts to kiss Merlin once that day as the merman had to take the initiative to do it again.

Once Mordred realized Merlin wasn't making fun of him he relaxed. Writhing, dragging on Merlin's scales as he tried to get himself closer. Merlin played along, let the boy do what he liked. He hissed as Mordred dragged up his scales again, the pain going to the back of his mind as Mordred started gasping his name.

 _'Mordred,'_ He mimicked back in Mordred's mind.

The boy was a sloppy kisser, something Merlin would have to practice with him when he wasn't busy trying to trap him.

Then again, Merlin mused, Mordred wasn't falling for it yet. Grabbing a handful of Mordred's curly hair he took control and slowed the boy down before he ended up doing something Gwaine would mock him for the rest of his life.

It seemed this was what Mordred needed as, not long afterwards, Merlin heard _'Emrys'_ again in his mind.

"There!" Merlin shoved the boy off him. "You did it again. Why are you calling me Emrys?"

"It's..." A sorrowful look came over Mordred. It was like he was watching his whole life fall apart. Merlin didn't think he had ever seen the boy this way, not even when he had actually lost everything. Twice. "It's your name. Our name for you anyway."

"The Druids?" Merlin clarified.

Mordred nodded.

"This explains a lot," Merlin concluded. "But why were you looking for me. We had never met- wait, how did you know I was this Emrys?"

"Your magic," Mordred said like it was obvious. "It was... like nothing I had ever felt before. My mentor said you were Emrys. He was rather shocked you were a merman."

"Emrys," Merlin mused. "So why do I have another name? Why do you know about me in the first place?"

Everything was both becoming more complex and clear at the same time. He remembered what the dragon had said the first time he sneaked Mordred into Camelot. How Merlin had a destiny, one Mordred knew about but thought Merlin should want to know about instead of being told. He wondered why that was. What destiny could frighten Mordred? And he was frightened, even now as he struggled to answer Merlin's questions he hadn't lost that sorrowful look.

"You-"

"Stop," Merlin cut him off. "Just answer me this, what you're keeping from me, is it bad?"

"It depends," Mordred considered. "What might seem good to some, to others it might not. In either case if you want me to tell you about your name you'll be inheriting a burden."

A burden. Trust Mordred to be at war with himself because he didn't want to hurt Merlin's feelings. The druid really was a gem in the rubble of humankind.

With that in mind Merlin sought to make the mood a lighter one. "Let's talk about your kissing skills..."

He knew he should have told Mordred. The druid was asleep, squirming under the weight of Gwaine in their tent. He had been overjoyed when Merlin left the matter of Emrys alone. Even more so when his kissing lesson extended from one time to whenever Merlin was bored enough to indulge him. Merlin knew Mordred wouldn't be happy with him when he came back.

As it was now, Merlin was swimming up the stream leading into Camelot. The grate was still unblocked and, hopefully, the water filled tunnels would be free of guards. Just in case Merlin kept to the bottom of the tunnel near the tiled floor, listening for anyone that might be waiting to kill him.

The dragon was looking most happy to see Merlin on his own. His scaly paws crossed and a smug look on his face he near purred with delight when Merlin seated himself comfortably on the land near the dragon's rock.

"What did he do? Slip up in the middle of a sentence. Or has the seeing stone finally gained your interest?"

No wonder he was locked up if this is what pleasure looked like on a dragon.

"He called me Emrys. And he was going to tell me whatever I wanted," Merlin clarified. "But I stopped him."

"Why stop the boy? You're clearly curious about your true path, you wouldn't be here otherwise," the dragon queried. "Yet you go behind the boys back..."

"I get it. You don't like Mordred. But I'm here now, so just tell me," he yearned.

The Dragon did. He told Merlin all about Arthur, how he was destined to bring back magic to Camelot. He told Merlin how, without Arthur there would be no him, how he was, literally, born for Arthur.

Merlin was overwhelmed. He considered the idea that the dragon could be lying. It had been cooped up for so long it was perfectly possible that he spent his time coming up with ways to mess up people's- Merlin's- life. Then again, Mordred had called him Emrys. Had warned that telling Merlin why he was known by the druids would put a burden on him. One Merlin couldn't shake now he knew.

He processed this in minutes. Going through his encounters with Arthur in his head and saying to himself, 'Yes, that's why I didn't kill him.'

Of course the dragon had to ruin his night even more as he said, "If you are even considering this path Merlin I must advise you eat the druid boy. Preferably before he matures more."

Merlin didn't know exactly what happened. The idea of eating Mordred just resonated so deeply in him that he heard a shout, which later he would know as himself, before he was diving into the water, the dragon fleeing to the extent of his chain, as the castle shook around them. Rocks, some as sharp as a blade while others, flat and heavy crashed into the dragon's stream.

The creature itself was shouting for Merlin to "Calm down!"

He was trying. But his heart raced with each splash of death while a part of his brain told him to not listen to the dragon. It wanted him to kill Mordred. He couldn't do that. The boy was... Special to him. It served the dragon right to be crushed here if he was sprouting advice like that at everyone that asked.

The dragon was still shouting as Merlin got stuck under a rock. Well his fin did. The pain only added to his frantic state, and it was only as he realized he would be crushed along with the dragon that he tried to control himself.

Easier said than done when it felt like his tail was on fire.

"Merlin!"

The dragon was still shouting but it wasn't him that Merlin was listening to. Another voice had joined the clamour in the cave. One he knew from countless hours torturing him. It was also the voice he least wanted to hear right now. Especially with his new found knowledge about the man.

"Merlin, are you still here? Merlin if you're doing this-" Arthur cut off as something probably fell near him. "Merlin stop!"

The pain in his tail had dulled enough for him to gather and calm his thoughts. He couldn't remember the last time his magic had done something so powerful. At least, accidentally.

Within a few minutes the rocks stopped falling and the water stilled around him. Merlin heard a yelp followed by footsteps as Arthur remembered the dragon and called for back-up. The voices warbled above him. From what he could tell, Arthur was actually making sure the dragon was okay. While they were distracted Merlin tried to pry his fin out. The blue looked almost black as it faded beneath the brown stone, the gold barely shining as it lined the creases of his tail.

He felt like crying when tugging only resulted in stretching the thin skin. He considered using magic, but after what just happened he was both too tired to try and too scared at what might happen should he use it.

Eventually it was Arthur and his men that came to his rescue.

The dragon must have clued them in to his predicament, although why the dragon would help him after what Merlin just did was beyond him. Merlin certainly would have let the dragon rot if their situations were switched.

It was an awkward rescue mission. Merlin was near the caves exit, and quite far down as well. The Prince had to dive down while his men used the high rocks around the stream to try and move the rock from above. Submerged, it took an effort of Arthur trying to use his sword to pry up the rock, which ended up with Merlin punching the blonde when his sword got too close his fin. When that didn't work he asked the dragon to move the rock for him. Surprisingly he did.

Things got worse when Merlin wasn't allowed to go home. Once free, Arthur grabbed him around the waist and put him in a bath tub that had been, helpfully, provided by the knights. No amount of hissing or snapping at any of them had Merlin back in the water. However, they did drop him once when he got too close to Lancelot. Arthur kept a knife to his throat the rest of the trip.

Merlin thought they were taking him somewhere public to dry him out before executing him. But no. They stopped outside a small door that led to a small room. Feeling caged in at just a glance it got worse when he noticed some of the things on the rooms shelves. Poisons. Did they mean to taint his water and watch him squirm?

He tried taking a bite out of the hand that clasped his shoulder. Arthur was quick to intercept with the threat of his blade back on Merlin's throat. The hand belonged to an old man. One who, seeing Merlin restrained for the time being, performed a thorough examination on Merlin.

"I told you," Arthur crowed, his voice smug even as his blade didn't lessen on Merlin's throat.

"So you did Sire," the man agreed. "Extraordinary, just look at his teeth," he went on, moving Merlin here and there.

When his hands finally got to Merlin's fin he didn't much care Arthur had steel on him. Bottles smashed and hands pinned him down as he spat bloody murder at the man.

"What happened?" the man demanded.

Arthur filled him in as good as he could with a merman trying to kill him. Finished, Gaius tutted and went puttering about with the bottles that hadn't been smashed by Merlin.

Coming back with a metal thing that didn't look friendly he warned "You'll want to pin him down." and proceeded to torture Merlin for the next hour.

Sore and trapped in a bath tub Merlin counted the clouds as they went past the window. Arthur had brought him up here with the promise that Merlin was getting the best treatment available. He was even in Arthur's personal chambers so the prince could look after him personally. He saw it for what it really was, a prison. A lot like the one he was in with Mordred that winter. Only his time there was no Mordred to keep him occupied during the day and his tail protesting every time he tried to get comfy in the tiny bath tub!

"Let me go," Merlin demanded as soon as Arthur came in.

"As soon as you can move your tail without wailing,' Arthur conceded and pinched Merlin's tail to make his point.

"Why are you doing this? I should either be dead or back complaining at my lake. What purpose does keeping me here serve?"

Arthur didn't answer. Instead, he went on with his usual routine. He wrote for a while, even practised his speech with Merlin for an audience.

"It's horrible" Merlin remarked.

"Which means everyone will like it," Arthur concluded, a dopey smile on his face.

Merlin had to endure all of this, worse when he found out the prince snored, until Lancelot came in the next morning with all the answers Merlin needed.

Dressed and avoiding Merlin nipping his skin Arthur was speaking Gaius' instructions aloud as he checked on Merlin's injury. A knock sounded and Arthur had the sense to rear back before Merlin caught him.

In strode Lancelot, his armour shining and smile etched onto his face as he greeted the prince. "Gwaine has just entered the citadel. Should I bring him up?"

"Is the boy with him?" Arthur asked.

"Not that I could see," Lancelot said. "But he could very well be hiding. He knows the law, Gwaine might have smuggled him in a different way."

"What's Mordred- You're trying to trap him here," Merlin figured out.

"I'm not having a boy die when there's something I can do about it," Arthur said, not even trying to deny his plan.

"You want to do something? Lift the ban on magic. It's that reason why he's living with a man eater," Merlin argued.

Arthur wasn't listening to him anymore. Giving his attention back to Lancelot he ordered, "Tell Gwaine nothing, see if you can keep him in the city. The snow should be falling soon. If Mordred's not here now he will be."

With a bow Lancelot left with his instructions.

A wince made itself known on Arthur's face as he turned back to Merlin. His sleeves rolled up he went back to checking over Merlin's sore fin. Even as it hurt Merlin forced himself not to get violent. He had more important things to concentrate on after all.

"Did you tell the dragon to say all that? How long have you been planning this?"

Arthur's brows drew together, "What did the dragon say?"

So maybe not all of it was staged. Keeping quiet, he let Arthur stew before repeating his second question.

"Not long," Arthur confessed. "I had a feeling, even as I did invite you to stay this winter, that you wouldn't come. I had originally planned on just kidnapping Mordred and leaving you under the ice. However, this is just as good."

"And what makes you think Mordred will come here? Gwaine goes to the tavern every other night, that's probably what he's here for," Merlin said.

At Arthur's scoff and leer he remembered the blonde being present for the first of Mordred's kissing lessons. Settling into a pout he contented the rest of his examination by splashing water on the spluttering prince.

Just as Arthur dug his hand out from checking the underside Merlin remarked, "You should be killing us. Anyone else would."

"Don't misunderstand me Merlin, I hold no compassion for you, no matter how pretty you are. It's Mordred I'm interested in."

"Again, you should be trying to kill him," Merlin insisted. The blonde was turning out to be as hard to read as Mordred. Only with Mordred Merlin found it endearing.

"He's a child," Arthur said aghast.

"He's old enough to live on his own should he chose so," Merlin said, repeating what Mordred had said to him about his age.

Arthur sighed, drawing up a chair next to Merlin's tub as he explained. "I feel responsible for him. My father executed his, father or mentor, someone who was looking after him. Anyway, I didn't do anything to help. He was alone, and even if I helped him get out it didn't change the fact I had just destroyed a child's life. And then there was that raid. I've messed up his life so much..."

"You were doing your duty," Merlin countered.

"He's a child. Even if it was my duty, it was wrong of me to do it."

"You're a weird human," Merlin sighed. Thoughts about the dragon came rushing back to him. Arthur was meant to bring back magic to Camelot. Merlin could see where, at least, the idea came from. Already he had helped a druid, kept a merman alive and welcomed back an exile who was known to consort with said merman and druid.

"Well you're a weird mermaid," Arthur countered. "Most noticeably because you're not a maid."

Merlin hoped that Gwaine would defy the odds and find him that day. That, or he would hear Mordred asking for him in his mind. Yet night came and still Merlin was in Arthur's bath tub contemplating how a man could sound so much like a bear.

Lancelot was back the next morning with an update and two more knights behind him. Arthur had a pretence to keep up if they were to hide Merlin successfully and so had things to do during the day. Percival and Elyan therefore became his appointed bodyguards. Merlin remembered seeing them when Gwaine came back from his quest.

Percival, built like a giant, was gentle as he checked over his tail. Much more than Arthur in any case as Merlin only snapped at him once. Elyan, on the other hand, was more than happy to keep his distance. Merlin respected the man for it. Finally, a human in this castle with a brain.

Nevertheless, the pair of them were more than happy to fill Merlin in on Gwaine's exploits when he came in to Camelot. The pair of them were quite chummy with him, and often were the ones to save Gwaine from a night in the stocks when he got a bit rowdy.

While Merlin knew they were trying to lift his spirits he honestly didn't want to hear it right now. He was uncomfortable, and with every mention of Gwaine he wanted more and more to be home.

Arthur came back in the evening, hurrying his knights over to him before leaving again with Elyan. It turned out they were doing something right for once as they came back with the saddest looking horse Merlin had ever seen. It barely fit through the door, and when it did it had hardly any energy to walk the few steps over to Merlin.

"You weren't joking about that fire," Merlin noted, since the horse was definitely suffering from fire damage.

Arthur scoffed, affronted "I wasn't just going to give you a healthy animal. My people have to eat too."

"You may want to look away for this. I believe Gwaine described my eating as enchantingly disgusting." Turning onto his front with difficulty Merlin took the reigns off Arthur.

He made sure to hand them back when he had finished. With nothing on the end and three knights looking horrified Merlin shuffled back onto his front, doing his best to ignore the bloody water he was now stuck in.

Merlin finally got a nap on the third day of his imprisonment. Unfortunately he wasn't asleep long.

A hand covered his mouth to muffle the protest that arose. Luckily for Mordred Merlin had his scent memorized and simply batted the boy away.

"What are you doing? Arthur wants you to come here. You need to get out before he comes back." Merlin tried shoving Mordred to the door, but he couldn't reach far from his bath tub.

A haunted look came over Mordred, "Aren't you coming with me?"

"Later," Merlin promised.

It seemed this was the wrong thing to say.

Mordred glared at Merlin's bath tub like it was him stuck in it. "I knew it. You went to the dragon didn't you? You want to stay with Arthur."

"What? No. I mean, yes I went to the dragon but I'm not staying here by choice. I got trapped under a rock. My fin's hurt."

Mordred softened slightly. "You're not staying here?"

"Of course not. Arthur's an idiot. Now leave before you're stuck here with me," he shooed.

Seeming to believe Merlin he glanced towards the door, "I can get you out."

"No time," Merlin protested, already he could smell Arthur coming back. "Quick, hide."

"But-"

"Hide before I make you," he threatened. There was no way he was staying in a bath tub another winter. They would escape and go to that castle again.

Mordred made it under the bed just as Arthur and Lancelot strode in the room. Arthur made a beeline for his desk, sorting through a mountain of papers before adding another to the pile and setting to work.

Merlin turned to Lancelot. The knight, having no reason to actually be in the room, was making him curious. It didn't last long as the knight pulled up a chair near him. Merlin hissed when he got too close. Unless they were checking his fin, he didn't like any of the humans near him.

"Gwaine's back again," Lancelot said. "I caught him buying sweets. Strange thing was he didn't head back to your lake."

"So?" He asked, knowing the knight had figured out Mordred was in Camelot.

"So if you smell the little druid around I suggest you tell me. Remember, we're his friends. If he's caught by anyone else in the castle he could be run through on sight."

Merlin nodded, his face the picture of compliance.

Lancelot spent the evening teaching him how to play cards. The only reason Merlin had the slightest interest in this was because Lancelot was teaching him how beat Gwaine. Even so, his thoughts kept returning to Mordred under Arthur's bed. He hoped the boy had grown a tolerance for snoring, all those knights with Gwaine, since Arthur wasn't any better.

Lancelot left as soon as Arthur's head hit the table. Waking his prince before he went he reminded Merlin to tell about Mordred as the door closed.

A yawn leaving his mouth Arthur was even more clumsy in his examination. So fatigued that Merlin managed to add a cut to the bruise Arthur had from him. It was a small nip on Arthur's arm, cutting through his tunic and dripping blood into Merlin's pink water. Arthur should have been glad Merlin had just ate. The smell of open human blood was enough to set his teeth grinding.

"You bit me," Arthur gasped, clutching his arm and rolling his sleeve up to see it properly.

"You're a horrible physician," Merlin shot back. He took his fin in hand, checking it over for any more damage Arthur might have done.

"You bit me," Arthur repeated.

"I'll do more if you touch me like that again," he hissed.

So concerned about his little cut Arthur set off to see Gaius. As soon as his door closed Mordred was out and rushing over to Merlin. Fully believing his story now he had proof Mordred held his hands out in silent questioning. Reluctantly, Merlin handed off his tail and let Mordred resume what Arthur was doing. Unlike Arthur Mordred's touch was ten times more helpful. Merlin could feel magic bubbling beneath Mordred's fingers, wanting to help Merlin but not knowing how.

"Where's Gwaine hiding out?"

Mordred shrugged as his hands moved further in to the centre of his tail. The gold seemed to be glowing brighter under his touch.

"He's probably at the tavern. I doubt he'll be much help until morning."

"Well you need to find him. When you do, bring him up here, make sure no one's in. We need to get out of here before it starts snowing." He was going through waters in his head and which one would get him out of Camelot the fastest.

"That won't be for weeks. We'll be gone long before that," Mordred assured.

"I don't think we will." Something about what Arthur said, he wasn't going to just let them leave. If they actually did get to the lake they would have to leave immediately for the castle before Arthur caught up with them. That kidnapping comment really struck a chord with him. "Promise me you'll be careful."

Mordred's hands left his tail and cupped his jaw. "I'll be careful," he sealed it with a kiss, darting off afterwards to find Gwaine.


	8. Chapter 8

He was going to get himself killed, Merlin thought.

Arthur had came in after training, with servants trailing behind him full of linens and buckets. The reason for why became clear when a tub, similar to his own, was dragged over and the prince hopped in minutes later.

The servants left when Arthur waved them off, and once the clatter of the door closed behind the last of them, Arthur and Merlin descended into silence. Uncomfortable for Merlin, not so for Arthur. The prince had a calculating look on his face as his eyes raked Merlin over for weaknesses. This wasn't just the prince wanting company while he bathed, this was an interrogation.

"How's your tail?" Arthur began with.

"Better," Merlin said, flicking some of his own pink water into Arthur's tub as proof.

The prince didn't seem bothered that Merlin had splashed horse remains at him. Chin on hand he appraised Merlin again, his hand hiding a smile that peeked out when he spoke. "Yes, I noticed. Remarkable, since yesterday you could barely move it."

"My kind are fast healers," Merlin brushed off. Slightly true, but mainly Merlin congratulated his quick recovery on Mordred. Despite not knowing any healing spells the boys hands had done something to Merlin. As soon as Mordred left Merlin had noted the ease in which he could move again.

But he couldn't let Arthur know that. Merlin's plan was based on Arthur's uncertainty. If the prince knew Mordred was in the citadel Merlin had no doubt they would be on lockdown. Lockdown meant patrols. Lockdown meant Gwaine would be trapped outside. Lockdown meant every way out Merlin had would be gone.

So he brushed Arthur's further observations off.

"How's Lancelot these days? I never did ask if those knights left him alone."

Forehead wrinkling in confusion Merlin explained the two knights two winters past when they had blamed Lancelot for the missing hound.

Arthur's only response was, "I didn't know." He seemed genuine in his confusion as well. "He never said anything against them."

"What did you do to him anyway?"

"Just a beratement and double patrol... You mean to tell me that Lancelot had nothing to do with that?"

Merlin nodded.

"Which knights were they?"

Merlin shrugged, telling Arthur he didn't know nor care. His interest in this conversation was going, his head turning to find anything interesting to do in this room. Which was when he spotted the cloaked figure skulking in.

Something must have showed on his face as Arthur splashed around in his tub to try and get a look at what had caught Merlin's attention.

Thinking fast, he sent a quick 'Hide!' to Mordred and turned to distract Arthur.

"Have you found Mordred yet?"

Arthur stopped in his twisting to scowl at Merlin. "No. Gwaine's proving particularly tricky to follow."

"Either that or you're a bad tracker."

The blow to Arthur's ego did the trick. The blonde was pouting, back in his reclined position as he regaled Merlin with his hunting stories. Merlin was happy when he couldn't spot Mordred again. One sniff and he knew the boy was there but hidden. The rest of Merlin was horrified. Some of the stories Arthur told him were of sport. Apparently humans hunt the animals for fun. Sure, his kind were no better sometimes. But most of the time those people were particularly vile. The rest of the humans they ate were for survival. They didn't get many people down at the lake after all.

"I think I've heard enough," Merlin stopped. To think he had tried to get Mordred to live with this species.

"Finally accepted you were wrong then? Shame, I hadn't even gotten to some of my more famous kills," Arthur gloated.

"Oh well, maybe another time," Merlin grit out.

Thankfully the prince wasn't in much longer. Unfortunately this was the time Arthur chose to strike. Clever plan, Merlin noted, making him complacent with idle chatter when it seemed his interrogation was over. If Merlin wasn't still reeling from Arthur's unicorn story he would have been impressed.

Out of the water and toweling himself off he walked next to Merlin's tub.

"Tell Mordred the guards are to bring him food and water as soon as he requests it. Oh, and to get a good night's sleep. I doubt my floor's that comfy."

'I don't know what you-"

Blonde hair obscured his vision as Arthur leaned in close to his, "I'm not stupid Merlin, so don't treat me as such."

"I'd say that was up for debate," he called after the retreating prince.

His bravado left as soon as the door closed. Not needing to keep quiet he called Mordred out and cast his most murderous glare at the boy as soon as he came close.

"Where's Gwaine?" he growled.

Mordred, to his credit, didn't flinch at the tone. Taking Merlin's tail in hand he repeated his massage from yesterday. If he had hoped to soften Merlin's mood it wasn't working.

"He's at the tavern. He booked a room there as soon as you went missing. Wish he'd told me so, but then again I'm not exactly allowed in Camelot."

"That answers where he's been Mordred. Not why he isn't here with you when I specifically asked you to get him," Merlin snapped.

"You know if you had just let me last night I could have had you back at the lake. We don't need Gwaine to always save us," that last part muttered so quietly Merlin almost missed it.

"That's why you didn't bring him? Because you want to play the hero? Well Mordred your plan has successfully trapped both of us in Camelot for three months. Tell me, do you feel heroic enough?" He knew he was being harsh but his temper had snapped as soon as he saw the dragon. Right now he only knew annoyance and anger.

"We can still escape. Hold onto the edges and you can sing the guards away," Mordred made to cast a spell on the tub.

"No." He even batted Mordred's hand down. "Don't you get it? Arthur knows you're here. If it were just a simple task of singing to escape I would have done so before now. He's a warrior, he knows about escape routes and plans. The guards have probably got ear plugs and now Arthur's got you in here he has the upper hand. We don't know what contingencies he has in place. We're trapped Mordred. Trapped."

Awareness came with Mordred's big blue eyes dropping shamefully to his tail. For a minute there was just the sound of Mordred swirling the water around.

"I'm sorry," Mordred whispered.

At least the boy was decent.

"This was why we needed Gwaine. He could have foresaw Arthur's plans or at least provided a distraction." Sighing, Merlin cupped Mordred's jaw, forcing him to look at him. "It's not that I don't think you're capable. Believe that if nothing else."

"I do."

Mordred tried the doors when he was finished with Merlin's massage. There were guards waiting on the other side. One of which asked what Mordred wanted to eat while the other handed off a basket to him before closing the door themselves, shutting him in with Merlin.

The basket was full to the brim with things for Mordred. On top were two fur blankets. Thick and fluffy to the touch, their message of where Mordred would be sleeping tonight was clear. After the blankets was a new cloak. Camelot red and made from a thick material that would keep the chill out when Arthur finally let them go as the snow melted. Tunics and breeches filled the rest of the basket, with a new pair of boots at the bottom.

All of it was made from only the best materials. So long as Mordred didn't have another growth spurt these things would last him a good few years. Merlin was quite taken back with the care Arthur had put in when he decided to take Mordred for the winter. The boy seemed to be having the same thoughts as the frown that had marred his brow softened with a blush staining his cheeks as he stroked one of the blankets.

"Why is he doing this?"

Merlin shrugged, the explanation of responsibility Arthur had fed him filling his thoughts. "Just be thankful he's not impaling you."

The guards came in an hour later with platters of food and an almost a full barrel of wine. Servants filed in after them to attend Mordred through his meal. The boy, for his part, looked uncomfortable all the way through, and only when they asked if he needed anything else did he actually take notice of them.

"Yes." three men came to attention straight away. "I need you to go down to the streams and fill a bath tub with water. Bring it back up, preferably in here. Please."

Almost every eye in the room turned to him.

Holding his hands up in defense he said, "I didn't put him up to it." even if he was happy when Mordred dismissed the servants and helped him into the clean tub.

"I think I'm actually going to go crazy in here," Merlin noted. While the clean water was nice, it didn't change the size of his prison.

"We'll go crazy together," Mordred amended.

Arthur came in when it got dark. Mordred was dozing on his furs in front of the fireplace. Woken when his companion banged in, almost yelling as he addressed Mordred.

"What happened to waiting at the lake? I told you, if the prince finds you we're done for." Gwaine showcased his point by dragging the blonde over like a prize pony. "This doesn't look like you're gone."

"I'm surprised you even remember that conversation," Mordred muttered.

"Hello Gwaine," Merlin called.

"And you," Gwaine snarled, leaving Mordred in favor of marching over to Merlin's prison. "What were you thinking coming into Camelot? Not only coming here but getting yourself trapped. You could have at least called for backup, or told us what you were planning."

"In my defense, I would have been back at the lake the next morning. But then the dragon opened his big mouth," He spat, not needing Gwaine to tell him the mess he had got himself in to.

"Dragon? There's a dragon here?"

"Under the castle," Merlin clarified.

Arthur seemed to have latched onto the dragon again, "What did he say to you? By the time we got down there the earth was shaking he was so distraught," he appealed to the other two. As if they would help interrogate Merlin in this matter.

While Mordred's eyes promised later, Gwaine seemed to have no interest in the dragon other than it existed. Arthur had no support and Merlin wasn't giving him any answers, resulting in the blonde storming off to his desk.

"I think we should all just accept we're here for the long haul and forget whose fault it is we're stuck," Merlin proposed. Mostly because it was his fault they were here.

"I think that's a good idea," Mordred agreed.

"Fine," Gwaine spat. "But only because this means I don't have to forgo wine for three months."

The evening passed with Arthur keeping his distance. Gwaine had took time to fully calm down from his rant. When he did, he helped Mordred try on his new clothes. Almost taking the cloak for himself when it turned out to be long enough to cover the man. Mordred appeased him with one of his blankets. The pair of them pulling Merlin closer to the fire so he wouldn't be left out.

"Is he always so loud?" Mordred complained.

Arthur had went to bed an hour ago and, from the moment his head hit the pillows, he had snored.

Gwaine snorted, his good humor back, "This is nothing. You wouldn't believe it from looking at him but Sir Leon is twice as loud."

They all chuckled as Arthur let off another howl.

"He's worse than you," Mordred laughed.

"Worse than me? Me?"

Mordred was almost flattened as Gwaine wrestled him around.

"You are quite bad," Merlin said, avoiding a good natured slap from the man. "Don't worry, the girls find it endearing."

"Just like you find Mordred?" Gwaine teased.

"If you're hinting at something, I really don't have the patience to figure out what."

Gwaine didn't care to elaborate either as he switched the subject.

The next day Gwaine tried leaving to get something 'decent' to drink. The wine Arthur had sent to the room the day before wasn't really to his tastes, which was a shame since that was all the alcohol Gwaine was going to see for a while.

The guards stopped Gwaine as he tried to leave. Held him back when he charged at them and placated him with empty promises when he grew angry.

As soon as Arthur returned they all found out that, until the snow fell, they were to stay in one place. Arthur didn't want them plotting behind his back and thought the best way to make friends with them was to lock them in a room for weeks.

Naturally Arthur's plans ended with him and Gwaine passing blows. Lancelot just had to enter the room as Gwaine got the upper hand and held the man down with Elyan and Percival not far behind as their prince recovered.

"Let him go. It's only natural he lash out," Arthur waved off.

The knights had brought dice and mead. A combination that finally had Gwaine lying docile on Mordred's furs.

With the knights lowering most of the rooms intelligence Merlin tried to save at least Mordred from being roped into their idiotic new game. Asking sweetly had the boy running his magic hands over his tail again. The bliss of relief repaid in teaching the boy a little trick he learnt as a child.

Mordred tried to keep his weight light as he smashed into the tub with him. Straddling his stomach Merlin had him cup his hands as he sent his magic into the water. It jumped into Mordred's palms until a steady stream was pouring out of them. After that, Merlin changed it up by shaping the water into animals. Birds flying around, clear and smooth, before landing gently into Mordred's pool. Horses galloping and leaping. A stag racing. A bear stalking.

"Teach me," Mordred grinned.

"Don't let them see."

The knights were, for some reason, trying to stand on their heads. Knowing their attitude on magic, even if he and Mordred had been invited, Merlin pulled Mordred closer so their foreheads were touching. To the others it looked intimate, when in actuality Merlin was hissing instructions and angling Mordred so his back would shield their magic.

Merlin was trying to sleep. His head was dunked under the water while his tail flopped over the end of the tub. Uncomfortable, but Merlin had never been able to sleep without his head underwater.

Morning had came with the knights stumbling back to their rooms. Heads stinging and holding their backs from a night on Arthur's hard floor. Mordred was the only one in the room bright eyed, and enjoyed torturing Gwaine before Merlin had said he would try and have a couple of hours.

"How do you get him to be so complacent?" He heard Arthur ask.

"'Him'?" So he was talking to Mordred.

"Merlin." Arthur said. Attention piqued "Even with Gwaine he's guarded. But with you...? I don't understand what makes you different from the rest of us."

There was silence for a while. Merlin was both hoping Mordred would answer and wouldn't. He was interested to hear the druid's thoughts but not when it was Arthur he was talking to.

Finally he said, "We're kin. It's something you wouldn't understand."

"But-"

Mordred must have walked away since Arthur never got to finish his sentence.

Merlin hadn't noticed how close Arthur watched them until after that conversation. Now he saw the way his eyes narrowed when Mordred got close to him. How he would take Gwaine aside and practice conversations he would later use on Merlin.

It was odd that the prince wanted to be civil with him.

As the days passed and Arthur left them on their own they would try and figure out a way to escape Camelot. Surely it couldn't be impossible?

They tried three attempts. The first with Merlin enchanting the guards. It turned out Merlin was right about Arthur having thought Merlin would try that. The guards, as soon as they heard Merlin's raised voice, had ear plugs in. Not only that, but when they tried the door the guards had doubled and sat with them until Arthur came back that evening.

The second attempt was Gwaine climbing out the window. He circled back under the pretence that he had just walked out. A scuffle sounded out the door as Gwaine provided a distraction. Mordred made sure Merlin was thoroughly drenched as he too climbed out the window.

That escape plan was foiled when Arthur poked his head out one of the lower windows. There were guards waiting at the bottom to escort them back to his rooms when they finally made it down.

Their third plan consisted of using the knights to help them. Merlin enthralled Percival. He had the knight knock the guards out and go to sleep when he served no other purpose. With chain-mail Gwaine and Mordred passed as knights. With an excuse that they were changing Merlin's water, no one questioned them as they roamed the hallways. This plan would have worked. They were almost near the stream to get out, when Arthur ordered Gwaine and Mordred to lift their helmets. They were doomed. Not to do so would mean violating a direct order from their prince, something no knight would do. Arthur knew that as well with the smug look on his face when the two hesitated.

"Nice try," He said to Merlin as he escorted them back to his room.

"I hate you," Merlin replied.

At the week's end the three of them stared hopelessly out the window. Little flakes of white were dotting around Camelot. Covering houses until it all smoothed into one white blanket. Merchants were closing their stalls in the marketplace, while children were rejoicing in the first fall of snow. Winter had came early, and with it, their last chance of escape.


	9. Chapter 9

True to his word Arthur let Merlin stretch his tail as soon as his way out was gone. Even with his magic it would have been difficult to escape when the ice was so thick, this was going to be a cold winter.

Thankfully his tail was better. It still hurt when he swam for a long time. But, for the most part, Merlin was free to stretch himself.

Arthur ended up leaving Merlin in the dragon's cave. Merlin thought this was mostly to ward Mordred away from him. It would have worked too had Merlin not stayed in the cave. He hadn't forgiven the dragon for what he said, and proved so by ignoring him in favour of calling Mordred down for company. Not to mention it was still littered with rocks. The expansive water wasn't much so when it was more rock.

"Arthur keeps asking me all these questions," Mordred complained. "Mostly about you."

"Like what?"

He thought back to the conversation he wasn't supposed to hear. When Arthur was asking about how Mordred got him to be so complacent. For someone who didn't like magic he was unnervingly curious about it.

"He asked what your teeth were like."

"My teeth?"

A blush stole its way onto Mordred's cheeks. "He was asking whether they... nip when we kiss."

Merlin kept his face still, fighting the laugh begging to escape at Mordred's muttering.

"What did you tell him?"

The embarrassment left, replaced with a scowl as he said, "I told him he's seen your teeth. They only get pointy when you're going to eat."

"Did he ask anything else?"

Something told him this wasn't the only prying thing Arthur had asked. But Mordred shrugged and changed the subject to Gwaine's every annoying boredom.

The man had quickly grown to hate the high life. By the second day of ordering whatever he wanted the man had thrown a strop and ended up fighting Arthur again. A week and he had started following a different person everyday for lack of anything else to do. Mordred had quickly lost him when it was his turn by hiding. Today it was Lancelot's turn. The man had strode into Arthur's chambers with a list for his prince and ended up with a stalker for the rest of the day.

"Never mind Gwaine. I'm bored. Do you know how dull it is swimming around all day with no one to talk to," Merlin whined.

"That's all you do at the lake," Mordred pointed out.

"No, I talk to you, or sunbathe, or- something."

Mordred pursed his lips, looking around the room for something. They were in Mordred's former nest. Seeming to know that Mordred would be coming down here, no matter how hard the prince tried, and had put blankets and a chair to make him more comfortable.

Seeming to find nothing the boy turned back to Merlin.

"Why don't you talk to the dragon?"

It was asked carefully. A look more calculated than Arthur could ever pull off on his face as Mordred gauged every twitch and swish Merlin made.

"He said something I didn't like," Merlin confessed. "Just leave it at that?"

"No," Mordred said. "Merlin I need to know. You find out about your destiny and, I understand if it was that which had you mad but it's not. What did he say to you?"

"He told me to eat you."

It just slipped out. He hadn't meant to actually say that to Mordred. Yet it was out there, and with every second Merlin didn't say anything more Mordred looked more and more frightened.

"Eat me?"

Merlin nodded.

"What did you say back?" Mordred asked.

"Nothing," Merlin said.

The scared look was gone as Mordred leaned forwards, "Is that how you got stuck? Did you try and bury the dragon?"

Merlin hummed considerately. He supposed he was trying to bury the dragon when he lost it.

"No," He said. "Well, yes. But it was an accident. My magic just reacted to my mood. I couldn't control it."

Mordred nodded. Merlin recalled an afternoon not that long ago when Mordred wandered into the trees for a while. Merlin had thought something had happened to the boy when he felt the magic almost frying the air around him. Yet, Mordred had came back unharmed and lazed around on the edge of the lake the rest of the afternoon like nothing had happened.

"So, is that it? There's nothing else?" Mordred asked.

Else? "A dragon told me to eat you. What else is there?"

"I don't know. Something about Arthur?"

"Arthur?" He felt his magic bubbling again. He fought it as best he could. "Why does everything evolve around that prat? Mordred I'm upset because someone told me to kill you. The only way Arthur comes into this is because he's the reason the warning was put in place."

"Then-"

"Mordred," Merlin grasped his jaw, forcing him to look at him. "Stop thinking about it. I'm not going to kill you. I'm not going to leave you for Arthur. This destiny that the dragon talked about, it's ridiculous."

Merlin thought the boy would kiss him. He never missed an opportunity, especially when they were as close as this. Yet Mordred smiled and pulled back, asking, "Can I come back down here tomorrow?"

"Sure. And bring Gwaine. Maybe we can come up with something fun to do together." It was a small hope.

Fun with Gwaine turned out to be another swimming lesson. Lesson was a strong word for it. Really, Gwaine learnt to do a somersault and then proceeded to start a water fight. He had no chance of winning. Especially when Merlin used his magic.

When the man finally pulled himself out to dry, Merlin occupied himself with listening to Gwaine teach Mordred how to steal.

The boy dropped off as their second candle flickered out. Gwaine, tired too, still managed to drag himself over to dip his toes in the water.

"Mordred says Arthur's bugging him," Merlin confided.

Gwaine smirked. "That's one way to put it," He chuckled. "He's seeing why Mordred stays around. Wants to move the boy here."

"In Camelot?" Merlin asked. He was pretty sure he misheard.

Gwaine nodded. "He wants him away from you. Thinks with your magic you can change him into a mermaid."

"Huh."

Gwaine narrowed his eyes, "You can't, right?"

"Don't know," Merlin said, making a promise to investigate that idea. "I wonder what colour his tail would be."

"Please stop talking," Gwaine begged.

"He would be brilliant at luring people. Have you seen those eyes? One look and-"

Gwaine had a hand over his mouth to stop him from continuing. The pair of them laughing and cringing at the idea of Mordred as a merman.

"Arthur doesn't need to worry. Even if I could make him a merman I wouldn't. He doesn't have the stomach for it."

A roll of his eyes and Gwaine was pointing out all the people Mordred had already brought Merlin to eat.

Pointing out it was different bringing someone to their deaths and actually eating them they moved on to another topic. Namely what they were doing to do the rest of winter. They couldn't carry on this path. Already the pair of them were going slowly mad being trapped here.

No answer came to them. Nor the next time Gwaine ventured down.

Strangely Merlin didn't get any visitors one week. One whole week. Arthur must have found a way to keep them occupied, was his reasoning.

That all changed when the ceiling shook. Dust flew down and lay gently on the water's surface. More swiftly followed as the bangs intensified above.

After his stint with the dragon Merlin knew better than to swim up. Instead he tried to get somewhere more secure. The dragon's cave was out of the question. Already fragile from its recent battering Merlin didn't think it would survive another.

Instead, he went out. The water was still deep enough to house him while the ice remained solid above. He could only curl up a few meters from the castle's outer walls as the water shallowed. It was more than enough space.

Or it would have been had a sword not smashed down on top of him. It grazed his cheek and set him back into the castle's tunnel.

He chanced another look, his curiosity too strong, and dove back. Breaking the ice as he rose up he spotted a knight standing in wait of him. He was back in the tunnel seconds later, mulling over the knights odd appearance.

It wasn't that he looked odd. He looked like every other human Merlin had ever seen. However he knew what Camelot's knights wore. Red and Gold was their favourable cloak of choice. Not black. Something was going on, and Merlin was worried he wasn't part of it.

It would just be his luck to be stuck inside a castle. A castle just recently invaded. Meaning, he had been forgotten about.

Suddenly the shaking castle started to make sense.

He knew what he had to do.

Diving back through the tunnels he found the dragon where he usually was. Perched on his rock he didn't seem all that bothered that his cave was shaking again. Thankfully nothing fell as Merlin pulled himself up.

"Any idea what's going on?" He asked.

The dragon looked up as another shake happened around them.

"It seems the Lady Morgana is trying to take Camelot again."

"Again? How often does this happen?"

From the way the dragon was barely reacting Merlin gathered it was often.

"I shouldn't worry too much. Arthur, so long as he lives, will be able to hold her off." The dragon looked up again, "That is if your little druid hasn't sided with her. If that should happen-"

"Don't make your situation worse lizard," Merlin growled, his magic adding to the danger around them by felling a rock near the dragon. "Mordred won't join her. He knows how stupid that would be."

"So you say," The dragon sniffed and turned his head away.

"So I know," Merlin muttered, hoping it was true.

The dragon wouldn't say anything more about what was going on above. It wasn't that he didn't know. Merlin knew he did. A beast with hearing as sharp as his would hear everything that went on. The fact he was keeping silent was his way of spiting Merlin.

Not that it mattered. Merlin could smell the people as they passed. It happened very little over the next few hours. News must have spread to the foreign knights about a dragon living below. Their curiosity brought them down, but fear kept them on the threshold.

There was blood on their clothes. Some of it theirs and some of it others. Sweat, that was their own. Along with some odd scent. Like the vials Arthur kept in his rooms. Some of them must have been nobles, or had a bath recently at least. All of this told him so much about what happened above.

Mordred was still alive, from whom he'd smelled at least. There was no scent of Gwaine on them either. He hoped they had gotten out. Not that it was likely. Mordred wasn't stupid, but he was stupidly loyal to Merlin. He doubted he would go without trying to drag Merlin with him.

He was proved right when Mordred's scent permeated the air. Although not from where Merlin thought it would.

It took some time and a spluttering gasp to realize Mordred had sought him out via the water chambers. His dark hair was mattered as he fought over the rocky waters. Struggling in fact. Merlin helped him along almost as soon as he realized.

The dragon became even more pouty when Merlin got Mordred comfortable on his rocky ledge. He had no doubt the lizard would have taken to the walls had they not still shook with whatever was happening above.

It turned out Mordred had injured his leg. A long gash painted itself from the top to the middle of his thigh. Not deep, thankfully, and easily solved with a quick binding of cloth. The most damage it would cause would be when he walked.

"Morgana's taking the castle," Mordred said.

"So we gathered," The dragon growled.

Mordred narrowed his eyes at it, talking to Merlin inside his mind instead. _'What's wrong with it?'_

 _'Can't you tell?'_

At Mordred's blank look Merlin nodded towards him. Awareness crept upon him with a blush on his cheeks and a scowl on his brow.

 _'He won't try it himself will he?'_ Mordred asked.

Merlin shook his head. _'He wants it to be my decision. It's my destiny after all.'_

They both shared an eye roll, turning back to more important matters. Like what Gwaine was doing.

When Mordred told him he could scarcely believe it. Asking again and another time for him to repeat himself it was that unbelievable.

 _'I scarcely escaped the same fate,'_ Mordred said, his leg tended to for the moment.

 _'Still... A knight?'_

Apparently Arthur had been trapped with Gwaine and Mordred in his rooms. The plan was for Gwaine to get the other knights and lead them in a surprise attack while Arthur got Mordred to safety. Gwaine had protested on the fact that the knights wouldn't follow him, so Arthur had given him a knighthood.

 _'I managed to get out without Arthur's help,'_ Mordred pointed out. _'Really, there was no point in giving Gwaine a knighthood.'_

 _'Arthur's going to scream at you when he sees you again,'_ Merlin concluded when Mordred finished his segment on getting out of the castle. Magic combined with stealth Merlin was, once again, surprised at and Mordred had managed to get to the underground reservoir. His leg had happened before Arthur shut them in his rooms. One of the rotation guards turned out to be a traitor and had led an ambush in.

 _'That's if Morgana hasn't killed him. When I got to the reservoir all the invaders had been summoned to the throne room. Whatever war plan Arthur's got in play is taking place now.'_

' _Now?'_ Merlin asked as another knight came to the threshold of the dragon's cave. _'Then why are they still coming down here?'_

Mordred shrugged, his knowledge limited on that matter. He nodded towards the dragon, but at Merlin's shaking head he dropped it.

They descended into silence. The dragon making it hard for them to talk out loud without judgement as well as in their heads when a growl after one comment had Merlin remembering they weren't the only two who could do such a thing.

An hour, a few pointed growls from the dragon and the tense boredom or an invaded castle had the two of them dozing while the dragon huffed on his rock. To spite the beast even more Merlin pulled Mordred on his chest. Proving that Mordred wasn't out of Merlin's favour.

He even played with Mordred's hair, just starting to curl as it dried. Stopping when he noticed it was softer than usual.

 _'You've been using Arthur's oils haven't you?'_

 _'Maybe,'_ Mordred admitted. _'He complains when I don't.'_

 _'He's not your mother,'_ Merlin scolded, even if his hands were admiring the new texture.

 _'Neither are you,'_ Mordred countered pushing his head further up Merlin's chest. _'Which I'm definitely thankful for.'_ Merlin didn't even know someone could purr in another person's head.

He took the hint when Mordred angled his head up, but stopped when a particularly loud noise from the dragon had him jumping, making the boy catch his jaw. Hissing low in his throat at the dragon he turned back to Mordred, pulling him up properly to get his mouth.

It was short, but proved his point. Staked his claim, his mind said, as Mordred went back to his seat on Merlin's chest unscathed from his teeth.

 _'We'll play later,'_ he promised.

Another man passed the cave, this one bringing Lancelot's scent with him. It wasn't potent on his clothes, just a faint brush. The man had been near him, no further contact. With no wound on him Merlin could smell the battle above still remained a mystery.

With no light coming in it was hard to gauge how long they were down there. The urge to sleep had came and passed leaving both of them restless. Merlin more so since he'd had little to do these past days but swim.

Skipping stones was frowned upon by the dragon. Although he didn't expressly say so himself the two of them could tell by the way he swished his tail to purposefully knock Mordred into the water that he didn't want them happy if they were staying with him.

When Mordred was knocked, again, into the water Merlin had enough.

"Would you rather have us die above?" he snapped.

The dragon, for his part, looked shocked that Merlin was angry at him. "Young Warlock?"

"You don't want us here- well, Mordred here. Yet you know we can't leave. The other exits are guarded. They know I'm here."

Mordred had revealed that in his explanation as well. He theorized that if Morgana wasn't here for Arthur then she was here to get his tame merman. Having one at her side would definitely make her a force to be reckoned with.

"What would you have us do?" Merlin asked.

"Do? Young Warlock I think you misunderstand me," The dragon said, his tone still innocent. "If you think I'm trying to make your uncomfortable, that is not my intention."

"So you're just huffing over nothing then?" Merlin asked.

"Perhaps I'm concerned about what's happening above," the dragon even had the gall to look at the roof worried.

Merlin scoffed at him. He knew that the dragon didn't care about what was happening. If he did he would be telling Merlin to do something.

"Well if you're not mad at us, can you stop dunking Mordred?"

The boy was sitting, wringing his shirt out. Thankfully he was low enough the dragon couldn't easily get him again.

"It's not my fault he stands where my tail is moving to," the lizard defended, not saying he would or wouldn't be sending Mordred back into the water in any of his words.

Winter was too long already and Merlin didn't have the patience to stay here any longer.

"We're leaving," he said to Mordred, pulling him by the hand until he could get him on his back.

For the first time since Merlin came into his cave the dragon showed some genuine emotion. Calling Merlin back as soon as he made to dive.

He considered ignoring the dragon. But his curiosity got the better of him and he set Mordred, wet again, down to listen to the lizard.

"What?"

"If you leave that way, there's no chance you will get out," The dragon said. "The witch has more than men standing guard. Magic, traps, anything that will incapacitate you."

"How do you know this?" He didn't trust the dragon fully.

"I can hear them. They know you are trapped in here, why else would they walk past. The only reason they have not came down is because the witch wishes to collect you herself, after she's finished claiming her throne."

As much as he would have liked to think the dragon lying he could sense the truth in his words. With nothing else to do he asked the dragon how he would have Merlin escape if not the water.

"By walking out," it said, and came eerily close to them. "Listen closely, both of you."


	10. Chapter 10

He stumbled again, biting back a curse through sheer will at his useless appendages. Mordred covered his mouth to muffle the sounds that did escape as another guard passed them by. Red and gold was on his cape, not the first one Merlin had seen walking freely in this takeover. Not for the first time Merlin marvelled at how many traitors were in Arthur's castle. Thankfully the two of them were hidden in an alcove, and so the knight passed them without quarrel.

 _'Will you be alright?'_ Mordred asked.

Nodding, he let the boy help him up.

When the dragon had taught him the spell to change in to a man, and Mordred the reversal spell, Merlin had been overjoyed. Hundreds of delightful images came to mind at the possibilities this opened up for him. One such being Merlin sneaking into people's villages in order to eat instead of waiting for them to come to him.

If only he had realized how stupid those thoughts were. He could barely stand never mind sneak around. Already Mordred was near carrying him so they would actually move, and how he pitied the boy for that. Merlin knew he wasn't all that light, and with his new height it must have been a struggle for the boy. Then there was his leg. All this walking had blood seeping through the makeshift bandage.

But he didn't complain, and walked as well as he could.

 _'We're never going to get out of here,'_ Merlin lamented, his feet tripping themselves up again.

 _'We will,'_ Mordred said, pulling the pair of them into another empty room.

Footsteps came and went as the guard passed. Mordred poked his head out to make sure the hallway was, once again, empty before shouldering Merlin again.

 _'You're going to have to be quiet on this next stretch,_ ' Mordred warned, the reason for why becoming clear as they turned the corner.

Almost all the halls in Camelot looked the same to him. Large grey walls with banners or tapestries adorning them. But even he could see how this next part was different- important. First, there were guards on the doors. Their black capes dangling regally off their shoulders as they did their best to be as still as possible. Between them loomed a large wooden door, from which Merlin could hear shouting, followed by the tremors that had been shaking Camelot for hours.

"-me Arthur? Your castle has already fallen, and as soon as I get my hands on your pet your kingdom will too."

Merlin recognized that voice. He had heard it once before, the day Arthur had brought his female companion to the lake. He felt Mordred breath her name on his shoulder. Morgana. Obvious really since he knew she was behind this attack. Still, like her appearance it was hard to place this woman with the pretty one that had been Arthur's friend all those years ago.

' _Stay quiet,'_ Mordred repeated, his magic rising.

A pointed glare and one of the knights spears fell from his hands and hit the other in the head. A scuffle followed, the pair of them fighting over their near deaths.

Taking the distraction Mordred more pulled than let Merlin walk his way to the other side. The knights ignored them in favour of their fight, even when Merlin stumbled again. As he passed he caught a glimpse of the stand off in the throne room. Morgana and her knights on one side with Arthur, his back facing the door on the other. Gwaine was a solid figure next to him. His back straight and figure as sure as Merlin had ever seen him sober. Perhaps a knighthood was what the man needed.

All that went as Mordred pulled them behind another hidey-hole. The short walk had him out of breath. His feet ached from slapping against the cold stone and he was so cold even with Mordred's tattered shirt on him.

 _'We're never going to make it to the lake like this,_ ' he said, hoping, not for the first time, Mordred would just leave him here and go.

But the boy was stupidly loyal.

 _'We don't need to.'_ He had Merlin on his shoulder again. _'We just need to get to the stables.'_

Stables?

Awareness dawned with a groan. He made sure no one had heard him before fixing Mordred with his vilest glare.

The boy ignored it in favour of getting them out the front door.

Truly the worst was behind them. It seemed everyone was gathering at the throne room, meaning that the courtyard was fairly empty. The guards that did see them as they passed were easily quelled with a blast of magic before they could call for backup.

The only real resistance they faced was from the last person they were expecting. Lancelot.

Somehow the man was waiting in the stables. Saddling another horse, he was free of any scratches or wounds that would indicate he was injured. For a fleeting moment he thought the knight too was a traitor. But then he noticed the packs on the horses backs. Those were all of Arthur's things.

Seeing them first he had his sword drawn asking, "What are you doing here?"

"Escaping," Mordred said, taking one of the saddled horses. "Thanks for doing the hard work."

"This is for the king," Lancelot snapped taking the reigns back. "And what so you mean escaping? Aren't you part of this attack?"

"Does it look like we are?" Mordred asked starting a struggle for the horses reigns.

"Arthur said you sneaked off pretty quick. Not to mention he has legs!" Lancelot growled.

"I needed to get to Merlin. The legs are so he could get out without Morgana catching us. I know you don't like him, but I doubt even you would like Morgana to get him," Mordred countered.

"Look, we're both on the same side here, but unlike your king, we're actually leaving. So get out the way Lancelot," Merlin snapped, pushing the knight with what little strength he had.

"These are for the king," Lancelot said again, even as his eyes darted to the stable doors.

"Arthur's not going anywhere. He's facing off against Morgana now in the throne room. I suggest getting there now before it's too late."

The knight was off in a flash, leaving Merlin with a horse and a new piece of information about the fight inside. The king was dead. Lancelot served no one but Arthur after all.

He left that information behind as Mordred helped him on the horse. It was much higher than he expected and he was glad when Mordred jumped in front of him.

"Hold on, and try not to move much. It's going to hurt either way."

Merlin wrapped his arms around his waist, pondering over that last statement as Mordred kicked the horse into action. Thankfully he was strong, otherwise he would have fallen off. By the time they had cleared Morgana's lingering army in the citadel he was clutching Mordred for dear life.

He still didn't know what Mordred meant until they were out of Camelot. The rush of danger left with the beginning of the forest. Bringing with it the monotonous bump of riding a horse's back.

He was near begging for them to stop after only a few minutes of this epiphany. Mordred laughed off Merlin's complaining, his mood lighter now they were no longer trapped indoors. Merlin too would have been elated had his legs and nether regions not been aching. Also if it had been warmer.

Right now Mordred was his only source of warmth. The snow battered down on them, chilling his skin as the icy wind froze whatever it could get at. Not even the movement of the horse could heat him.

"Stop moving, you're only making it worse," Mordred said as Merlin squirmed again.

"Easy for you to say. You've rode one of these beasts before." He had a thought it was quite recently too with how easy he handled the horse. No doubt Arthur was using horse riding as a way of bribery too to keep Mordred around.

"So I know what I'm talking about," he chuckled.

They rode for hours, the last of which before they stopped had Merlin wondering if the lake was truly this far away. Mordred seemed to know what he was thinking as he confessed they weren't going to the lake. Disappointment came over him until he remembered it was winter. Of course they couldn't go there.

"We're going to that castle, aren't we?"

Mordred nodded, unpacking the furs Lancelot had so helpfully stowed for them.

That night was one of the worst Merlin had ever experienced. His head felt too heavy as it lay on the furs. No matter what he did he couldn't get that feel of weightlessness that always helped him drift off. His head wasn't the only problem. The cold only got worse the longer he stayed still. It felt like it was creeping under the furs. That there were gaps everywhere and, no matter if he managed to get one of them, another cropped up soon after. Then there was the furs. Only the best for the prince, so they were no doubt soft. But they slid and scratched across his skin, tickling him and making him move, bringing another gap into play and starting the whole cycle of uncomfortable off again.

Mordred had dropped off once they tended to his leg, now seated on Merlin's hip. Curled up and breathing heavily on his neck. Still Merlin's only source of real warmth he clung onto the boy like he needed him to breathe. Especially when he realized the boy was more comfortable than the furs they were on. The smooth slickness of his skin became too tempting as another breeze nipped his leg. Thanking the boy for giving Merlin his shirt he turned the boy on his back and lay as much as he could on top of him without crushing him.

When he finally got off to sleep he was more than ready to get his tail back.

They set off in the morning. It took a while since Merlin was reluctant to get back on the horse with his legs aching off the day before. But Mordred managed to persuade him. The ride didn't take too long. They had already made good progress and so were there by noon.

Not that it made Merlin any happier.

As soon as he got in to the castle the two of them had to make it liveable again. Raiders had been and left glass and other objects littering the floor. Mordred took care of that when Merlin accidentally bled out after stepping on one such sharp object. After that was the fire, the furs being laid out again, the rats (Which Merlin helpfully got rid of) and checking to make sure they were alone.

Even when all this was done there was still more, and more. Merlin had never truly realized how much Gwaine and Mordred did when he brought them here the year before.

Mordred only sat down when it grew dark. Tending to his leg before Merlin let the boy get comfortable on his legs, the odd cuddle being extremely welcome against the chill of the castle.

"I'll hunt fish for you tomorrow," Merlin promised, knowing the moat around the castle would be full of them.

Really, he wished he could be hunting them now. But he had held off when that meant he would be leaving Mordred alone. It was the least he could do since this whole turn of events was inevitably his fault.

"I'll scour the trees for birds while you do," Mordred said, pulling a fur over them. "There's bound to be something to eat."

The fire crackled in its hearth blowing a heated gust against the cold.

"Do you think Gwaine's alright?" Mordred said, his voice barely heard in the room.

Merlin snorted, "Of course. I bet he's drinking his victory down as we speak." Yet, even as he said this Merlin couldn't help but wonder what would happen if the opposite was true. Coming here with legs had given him an insight he wasn't soon to forget. If the man was dead he didn't know what he would do. Not because he cared. But because of Mordred. The druid still needed him, and Merlin wasn't all that knowledgeable about humans. He was sure if Gwaine was dead Mordred wouldn't be too far behind from neglect.

His thoughts were interrupted by Mordred, latching onto the optimism Merlin sprouted. "Either that or he's hunting us down. He hates it when we leave him."

Merlin fought another snicker. "If that were true then he wouldn't drink so much. He lives more at the tavern than he does at the lake."

They chuckled, the noise loud in the still room.

"True, but he does still hate losing us. You should have seen him when you went missing... Even when he does go to the tavern, haven't you noticed he only goes when he knows we're settled for the day?"

Merlin hadn't until Mordred pointed it out. Now all he could think of were the nights Gwaine said he was going for a drink. In most of them Mordred was passed out in his tent. The others consisted of Merlin, beached on the side of the lake teaching Mordred something or playing chess with him. All instances where there was no indication they were going anywhere.

"Damn it, he loves us," Merlin muttered, ignoring the laughter coming from Mordred.

"Yep. Says we're his little family. Naturally you're the mother," Mordred teased.

"Oh really?" Merlin asked pushing Mordred to the floor. It was weird straddling him with legs, usually it was Mordred who ended up in this position.

Ignoring it he continued pinning the boy to the floor. "I doubt a mother would do half the things I have."

"If you mean eating people, " Mordred choked out when Merlin moved on to tickling him. "I think you should remember your own mother."

"I meant kissing you little-"

As soon as the words were out Mordred had moved up to get him.

"You said we could play later," Mordred reminded him when they parted. "It's later."

"But it's so cold," Merlin said, the castle reminding him of this fact as another breeze slipped through the walls.

Mordred just reached over and covered them with the furs again. Merlin lay down to keep them warm also because his legs gave out again. He was quite surprised they had supported him for so long and moved around so he wasn't suffocating the boy.

Close and cocooned he let Mordred have his way. Peppering his skin with chaste kisses, teasing him and making him chase Merlin around to get to his mouth.

Merlin was quite happy with how much progress Mordred had made. No longer was he so eager to lose himself that he forgot the technique and skill his mouth had to possess. If he were a merman Merlin would have no doubt he could seduce anyone now. The way he lazily moved spoke of a confidence that drove humans crazy to see them again.

After a while he noticed something else. Something that had Merlin itching to chase after him when they broke apart. He only realized what when Mordred made to move.

Clasping his arm he stopped him from rising further and nearly pulled him back to his previous position.

"Merlin I need to-"

"Your magic," he gasped feeling it jump when Mordred touched him. "It's going crazy. I can feel it humming."

A dark little thrum, beating stronger than a pulse as it coiled with no purpose.

"Yeah," Mordred agreed. "I just need to- er, relieve myself. Don't worry about it."

He made to move again and this time Merlin let him. He knew all about the needs of the human body after his short lesson in the dragons cave, and years looking after Mordred. It was nothing he hadn't seen before. But he hadn't known Mordred's magic got like that. That was new.

Merlin felt when it left him. It charged the air around him and brought his own magic to the surface. Merlin was making shapes out of the flames when Mordred curled up at his back. The need to just do something heightening with that brief touch.

"What's that?" Mordred asked.

Merlin followed his finger to the monkey he had made. Realizing the boy had never seen one Merlin filled him in on all the animals he had seen in his life.

He hadn't always lived at the lake after all. When he was younger his mother took him around the world. Looking for other children that had been born with unusual parents. His favourite place, by far, had been the mountains in Norway. Giants still lived there, and with giants came everything big. Big houses, big livestock and, a huge lake. There all manner of magical creatures had made themselves at home. The giants didn't like to mess with them, knowing that just because they were small it didn't mean they were less deadly.

He had just finished describing this cave he found, not far from the castle, with crystals covering every wall when Mordred dropped off.

Merlin was woken the next morning with a boot pressing painfully on his leg. He didn't think he'd screamed that loud even when his tail had been caught, and quickly snapped his legs back.

"And there was me thinking they were fake."

Merlin knew that voice.

"Go away," he moaned, burrowing himself back under the furs and closer to Mordred. Unfortunately the boy was occupied in greeting the man standing a few paces off from Arthur and left Merlin cold and alone.

"Oh I will, as soon as you give me my horse back, along with Mordred," Arthur said

"Go away,' he moaned again. The king didn't. Just snatched his furs off Merlin and went to see Mordred. He had the sense to warn "Don't let him take you," while he tried to bring some feeling back into his body.

He heard Gwaine laugh and, minutes later, felt his arms as he helped Merlin up. Two days on horseback however meant that Merlin didn't stay upright for long and had to be carried over to Arthur and his knights.

"How's the kid doing?" he asked setting Merlin down.

"My leg still hurts," Mordred answered, playfully glaring at Gwaine for not asking him himself.

Still Gwaine looked at Merlin awaiting his answer.

"You heard him," Merlin said.

Arthur actually glaring at the pair of them turned his attention to the rest of his party. With a swift nod the knights dispersed and cleaned up Mordred's nest.

"As soon as we get back to Camelot, I'll have Gaius look at you," Arthur promised, taking a quick look himself at Mordred's cut.

Quick because the boy backed away like he had been hit into Gwaine as soon as Arthur finished. "I'm not going back to Camelot. Merlin, tell them."

"He's not going to listen to me Mordred, tell him yourself."

"Arthur come on," Gwaine said. "The boy doesn't want to stay with you. Just let him camp here."

Arthur, arms crossed, the very picture of petulant defiance merely posed, "And who will help him should he hurt himself?"

"Well I-"

"You're a knight of Camelot Gwaine." Arthur was smug while he said it. Watching as Gwaine realized what his actions meant.

A thought came to Merlin, a rather bad one too.

"You planned this."

He recalled Arthur telling him he would kidnap Mordred if it came to it. Even when he had him he wasn't letting the boy go so quickly. Merlin wouldn't put it past the man to have thought of knighting Gwaine to persuade Mordred to stay indefinitely.

Still the king denied it, as he should. But the seed had been planted in both Mordred and Gwaine's minds. The latter knowing that he could never again go back to his former life lazing around on the grassy shores with Mordred.

"I'm not going to Camelot," Mordred said again. "Not while Morgana's still at large."

"She's not-"

"So you've killed her? You've repealed the ban on magic? You heard that knight Arthur, what he called me. It's not my fault I've got magic, and until your kingdom sees that I'm not going back there." There was an air of finality in his tone, one that had Merlin questioning what had actually happened when those knights ambushed them.

He even sat in front of the dwindling fire, showing the king that it didn't matter how much power he had there was no way he was going to move Mordred.

However, The king wasn't one to give up easily. Which meant a stand off initiated itself.

The knights settled in for a night in the castle. While Merlin would have been happy to leave them to it Gwaine wouldn't hear of it. Dragging Merlin over to the fire he thoroughly inspected the changes the spell made, ordering Mordred not to change him back when Merlin begged him to.

"You're quite firm," Gwaine complemented feeling up his calf.

"Should I not be?" Worry was beginning to set in. Why didn't Mordred say anything?

"It's not that. I'm just surprised. I mean you haven't exactly walked before. Then again, all that swimming's bound to make some difference," Gwaine said continuing his exploration.

Merlin parted his legs when requested and found himself pulled by his thighs closer to Gwaine. He ignored the knight's snickers in favour of stealing one of their cloaks. Arthur had taken back Mordred's shirt from him, claiming Merlin should be used to being naked by now. The fur still scratched as he tossed it around his back.

He jumped when Gwaine grabbed his hip, pulling the joint and then his leg down to see the skin better.

"I have to admit, I like you as a merman and all but you don't make a half bad human either."

"I miss my tail," Merlin moaned, feeling along the path Gwaine's hands had left. "It was so pretty."

"Fear not Merlin," Gwaine soothed his hand dipping down Merlin's chest. "You still have a tai-"

"Gwaine!" Arthur hissed, nodding pointedly at Mordred smirking from his seat next to Gwaine.

The man didn't look berated in the least. Taking Mordred's hand he let the boy join his examination.

"Isn't he soft?"

"Gwaine!" Arthur tried again.

"Feel here." the man led Mordred's hand to Merlin's hip, whispering in his ear for the next part. "You'd think he'd be fatter with the size of his food."

Merlin saw why when he watched Arthur glower and shuffle closer to hear them.

Merlin held back his retort at the fat joke simply for the pleasure of watching Arthur scowl.

Gwaine led Mordred's hand down further, Merlin holding in his laugh at Arthur's scandalized look and jump to get Mordred away.

"He's a child," Arthur snapped. "Don't bring him in to your perversions."

Gwaine laughed him off, gaining a few snickers of support from the knights as they watched this all unfold.

"Relax princess we're just messing with you. Besides, I'm sure you did worse when you were his age."

"Just keep your hands to yourself," Arthur warned, bringing Mordred to sit next to him.

"Fair enough," Gwaine said, and even held his hands up in proof. However, Merlin knew something else was coming with the unnerving glint in Gwaine's eyes. He was proved right when Gwaine said, "Although I have to say Merlin. As a human, you're just delicious." Dipping his head and nipping his thigh.

Merlin played along, jumping at the initial weird sensation before pushing Gwaine away with a laugh.


	11. Chapter 11

Suddenly Merlin cringed at the times he would laugh at Mordred. Being stuck under Gwaine was no laughing matter. He was tall for one thing, almost as tall as Merlin with legs, and far taller than Mordred. His length meant he could stretch himself out over Merlin and still have leftover height to curl his legs around Mordred. Then there was his weight. No matter how much Merlin squirmed he couldn't get his arm out. It was so futile that, by the end of the night, Merlin had stopped struggling, and resigned himself to his fate of being slowly squished to death.

By morning he was sleep deprived and ready to beg Mordred for his tail back. If only Arthur hadn't been there. Spotting the man's golden head Merlin reigned in his complaints.

It looked like he wasn't the only one to have a sleepless night. Although it didn't show as much Merlin could see by the rigidity of his pose that Arthur had been awake a long time. His knights were in a similar fashion, well, Lancelot was. Percival seemed to have no qualms about sleeping and was happily adopting a similar pose to Gwaine, only his victim was a more sturdy Leon. Elyan was another sentry being at Arthur's side. Pacing and stretching he looked to be preparing for a fight.

"Gwaine, " Merlin hissed.

The man snored in his ear.

"Gwaine!" he tried again, his elbow hitting home and slapping the man in the side.

"Go back to sleep Mordred," he mumbled, sliding his hand over Merlin's face before turning away.

Able to breathe again, Merlin took the small victory, seeking a different path now he was free.

Sitting up and shaking off his aches he had acquired through the night he smiled at the blue eyes that were blinking, watching him as Merlin sized up the competition across the room.

"Go back to sleep Mordred," Merlin said.

Sleep left Mordred's eyes. As if sensing something wasn't right he turned, like Merlin, to watch the knights stir.

In the light of day Mordred's resistance seemed useless. What power did Mordred have over five highly trained knights and Gwaine? While one of them was fought off from the front another could easily sneak up from the back. They knew that, Merlin definitely knew that, and still a stand off was occurring.

Morning went in a tense drag. Gwaine could sleep all day if he wished it, and as he had spent the day before riding to their castle he would be sleeping a while longer at least. With no chance to hunt the day before Merlin had to contend with the what the knights brought or else leave Mordred unprotected.

Naturally Arthur was more than happy to share, with Mordred. Not that Merlin wanted anything they had to begin with. Even the smell of cooking food had him retching.

"Something wrong Merlin?" Arthur drawled, wafting the cooked boar under his nose.

Making a beeline for the edge of the room Merlin was able to get to the broken table before emptying his stomach.

"Don't you want any?" Arthur called, his voice barely concealing the laughter it wanted to spew.

"Shut up," Merlin called .

He was soon curled around Gwaine again as Arthur continued to taunt him. Thankfully the stench of his human was able to block out some of the cooked meat.

Mordred wasn't so lucky to have an escape. Surrounded on all sides he ate what Arthur gave him before trying to retreat back to his own claimed side of the room.

The day passed in that same fashion. Arthur would show them how unprepared they were by coming here, giving them trinkets and food., even a water-skin. In return they would do their best to keep their distance, pointing out they could have all these things if Arthur wasn't there.

When Gwaine finally joined them things got slightly better. A known companion in both parties he bridged the two of them together in comradeship. Telling jokes and playing games- his favourite to be tormenting Merlin. Having him seated on his lap even when it wasn't needed, on the pretence he was 'keeping him warm'.

"Gwaine!" Arthur snapped, for what had to be the tenth time that day.

He was sat, Merlin in place, in front of the fire. The aim of this game had been to throw a shard of glass into one of the still standing vases. The game had been going well, Merlin thought, until Gwaine claimed Mordred was cheating. He had dragged the boy over until he was nearly on his lap as well, his head resting comfortably on Merlin's stomach, which was when Arthur thought he should make himself known.

"How many times do I have to tell you-"

"He's just a boy, I know." He made his shot easily, landing it with a solid ding. "But really, you're the one who's making it dirty. I'm merely playing a game."

The king glowered off to the side and, not for the first time, called his men over. Merlin knew they wouldn't be spending another night here. Sometime soon, they were going to make their move.

That happened just before nightfall. After eating the group of red had huddled together once more. Knowing something was finally snapping in them Merlin begged Gwaine to help him up.

Mordred was by his side as soon as he was upright.

"I think we should go for a swim," Merlin proposed.

"It's a bit cold for it," Mordred said but helped him down to the moat regardless.

As soon as they were out of sight Merlin urged Mordred to hurry, snapping at him when the boy was reluctant to use the spell, and sighing in relief as his legs changed back into his tail. The water was magnificent. Like silk on his skin. He flowed through the water, loving how easy it was to move.

Breaching the surface he was just in time to snatch Mordred where he was pouting on the bridge. Remembering the spell the boy used to use he warmed the water they were in. Just in time since Arthur came storming out soon afterwards. Merlin thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to make Mordred a merman in situations like this. The boy couldn't stay underwater for long. Long enough that Merlin could get them out of sight, but not long enough that, when he did emerge, he wasn't heard by the knights.

"Merlin!" Arthur called, Merlin's imminent death ringing in every syllable Arthur pronounced of his name.

"He's going to take me back to Camelot," Mordred said.

"Yes," that much was clear.

Merlin felt him squirm out of his hold. Swimming a few feet away to where Arthur's blonde head was making itself known. Mordred looked too, a kind of desperateness coming onto his face. With a last look at Merlin he climbed out onto the frozen ground. Gone in a blink before Merlin could do more than make a grab for him.

 _'I'll come back,'_ Mordred promised. A whisper in his mind as Arthur hauled him up and pinned him with swords to his neck.

It took three days of searching the surrounding forest before Arthur came back. Merlin could tell the moment he saw the blonde that Mordred was gone. Stuck in his moat and the waters under the castle he wasn't privy to any more knowledge on the subject.

Gwaine was still out the fifth night they made camp in this castle. He had shouted himself hoarse at Merlin for an hour as Arthur took charge of the search. Only when they didn't come back straight away did he set off himself. Merlin was growing worried.

A week. Gwaine was back and spending every minute he could with Merlin. The two of them trying to come up with places Mordred could be hiding. There were no druid camps anymore. Any still surviving were in different kingdoms. The only druids still remaining in Camelot were those that roamed on their own, and most of them weren't friendly. The only other people that Merlin could think of were Mordred's family. The boy had never spoken of them. From what Merlin knew however, the man who had first accompanied Mordred wasn't his father. That meant he had been taken at a young age to be trained or his family was dead. It wasn't unknown for the druids to take in orphans.

"Surely he's mentioned them once?" Gwaine asked. He didn't look good. His hair was on end and full of twigs, leaves, dirt, all of him. Too many explorations and no motivation for a bath.

"Not that I can recall." Merlin thought again to all those conversations they had. "But he would have went back to them if he could, right? I mean, he was alone long before he lived at the lake."

A defeated sigh and Gwaine was lying, exhausted on the stone bench just shy of the water.

"He said he was coming back," Merlin offered. It was the only thing he could say, and did say again and again, like if he stopped it wouldn't come true.

He hadn't realized how much he liked the boy. He missed having someone to listen to, complain to. He was the only human twisted enough to understand him and he had left. At the twelve day mark Merlin was hoping Arthur did find him. Find him and chain him in Camelot so he couldn't leave again. It was a stupid thought, but not the first one to cross Merlin's mind. Especially when he heard all the stories Arthur would purposely let filter down to where he stayed. Stories about murderer's, thieves and the things they would do to a boy like Mordred.

Gwaine was no help, he didn't deny that these things happened. Even pointed out some of the men Merlin ate that came by the lake. While it was true Merlin knew of these men and the dangers they posed, he'd even worried about them with Mordred before. But never had Mordred been by himself against these kinds of people since he was a boy.

"- young enough to pass for a girl," Arthur said, his voice loud in Merlin's echoed cavern. Not that the king was there, he hadn't spoken to Merlin directly since Mordred escaped. "The depravity of some people... Who knows what they're making Mordred do."

"You act like this was my fault!" he snapped, making sure the king could hear him. "You're the reason he's gone Pendragon! So don't try and sate your conscious by putting this all on me."

It was the first time he had called the king out, and while it felt good he knew the blonde wouldn't just take the verbal stain on his honour.

His sword was drawn and footsteps light as he ran down the steps into the cavern. His knights weren't far behind, save Gwaine who had been sleeping down here since returning.

"You think this is my fault?" Arthur asked.

Every pant and twitch Arthur made was begging for a fight. One which Merlin was going to happily give him.

"Who else? As soon as he saw you again he knew you weren't going to leave him alone. It's your fault he thought running away was better than coming back with you."

"Oh please, I gave him everything he could ever need. The only reason he was against coming back was because you weren't there. You weren't there to poison his mind with your talk of magic and-"

"So that's what this is about?" Merlin laughed.

"For crying out loud!" Gwaine interjected. Pushing Arthur back from the ledge he placed himself in the middle of them. "It doesn't matter whose fault it is. Mordred's gone. We need to find him before he does something stupid. So make up and work together, or piss off your majesty."

"You're taking his side?" and didn't Arthur sound petulant.

Gwaine thought so as well if the look he gave Arthur was anything to go by. "No offence but it's him Mordred's going to come back to."

He grabbed Arthur's shirt after that and pushed him to his knees so he was eye level with Merlin. Judging from the knights shocked faces Merlin was pretty sure what Gwaine had done was treason.

Not that he minded as he snapped, "Make up."

"For Mordred," Merlin conceded and held his hand out in truce.

Arthur shook it, his grip near breaking point. "Mordred."

"Good," Gwaine said and turned to the knights to think up new places to look.

"As soon as we find him I'm slitting your throat," Arthur hissed at him.

"Not unless I eat you first," Merlin shot back at him.

They parted ways for the night.

On the fourteenth day a problem arose that had nothing to do with Mordred. Camelot needed Arthur back for his coronation. The blonde seemed to have completely forgotten about his recent position, lamenting for a good hour after the messenger left that they would have to put the search on hold for a while.

Talks went on from above, politics and the like Merlin had no interest in. At least he didn't until horns sounded again and a group of unfamiliar knights came into his cavern. Between them they held the thing that haunted Merlin's nightmares. He resolutely refused to come out, even when the knights jumped in to try and catch him.

Gwaine had to play peacemaker again. Telling Merlin it was either the tub or he change back in to a human. Neither option was appealing to him. One meant a horse and the other a long trek in a swaying constricting prison.

He eventually chose the horse. Bundled in furs he rode with no one but Gwaine. The man, for his part, was pleased with this arrangement, bringing forth Mordred's little confession about Gwaine worrying about them to mind.

"When we get to Camelot, I want a nice guard, someone tasty," He bargained.

"Don't know about a guard. How about a prisoner? The castle's full of them after we rounded up the traitors."

Gwaine wasn't joking. Camelot looked half empty compared to the last time Merlin had seen it. Barely any knights were roaming the courtyard, even less when they got in to the castle itself.

Helped down from his horse he let Percival half carry him through the wooden doors. It was only when they were in the antechamber that was always Merlin's favourite place in Camelot when he realized his mistake.

"Well?" Arthur prompted.

Merlin wanted to cry. "I don't know the spell. The dragon only taught it to Mordred."

"Then ask the dragon," Arthur said.

"It's not that easy, if it were I'd be a merman by now," Merlin snapped.

The reason, the dragon said, that he had taught them the spells separately was so Merlin wouldn't abuse this new power. He said he didn't want Merlin changing his own people human, and for them to cause a further obstacle in the battle for freedom for magic.

Merlin didn't believe a word of it.

The real reason the dragon didn't tell them both the two spells was because he didn't trust Mordred. Merlin knew that he feared more for Merlin's life than the boys. Feared that Mordred would betray him. The logic stood that, from this argument, Merlin could battle Mordred on fair ground. He could change into a human and run when he chose and not by surprise should Mordred suddenly fancy a killing spree. While Merlin knew this impossible, he had to admit a human knowing the spell to make him human was unnerving, especially with how hard it was to walk.

With no tail forthcoming Arthur put him with the court physician.

"What if I eat him?" Merlin asked.

"You won't," Arthur said.

"I could," he argued.

Arthur looked pointedly at his legs. To which Merlin countered by flashing his teeth at him. He had discovered he still had them the first night of his and Mordred's escape. The boy's leg had bled, scenting the air and forcing his teeth from their gums.

He made sure Arthur saw them now, still as sharp ad they had been with his tail. "Just because I'm missing a few things doesn't mean you don't still smell good to me."

A blush came over Arthur's cheeks, even as a scowl marred his brow. It was a look Merlin had seen on Mordred numerous times when he was embarrassed. Angry to be embarrassed to be more exact. Usually it was directed at Gwaine. But Arthur wasn't Mordred, and suddenly Merlin didn't have the strength to taunt the blonde anymore.

"I'll have guards posted on your door," he heard as Arthur strode out.

Gaius was much the same as he had been the first time they met. Annoyed and fascinated with Merlin. He had no qualms ordering the knights to fetch a live animal for Merlin to eat, and even watched as he did so. He helped get the blood off his legs, scolding and giving Merlin tips on how to be a tidier house guest.

After he was clean came the examination. Gaius had his legs tested for reflexes. Made him walk the length of the room for strength- which took a while. Then he moved on to his teeth, a fascination for him ever since Arthur first brought him in, he confessed. His faux ones were prodded and poked as the man tested their strength again. Then he pricked his finger and watched, repeatedly, as Merlin's other teeth replaced them.

"See if you can break this," Gaius ordered handing off a metal tube.

Merlin did so easily, handing it back in less than a minute.

"Absolutely fascinating," Gaius mumbled writing something down.

"What is?"

The old man just waved off his question in favour of checking his genitals, and wasn't that just a scarring experience. By the end of the night he had three scientific lectures about human behaviours and anatomy. Any questions Merlin did have were now answered along with Gaius telling Merlin the news he wasn't exactly human. From him still retaining some of his people's features Gaius said that it was probably just his tail that changed, the rest of him was still a bloodthirsty monster. It brought to mind the story his mother told him about his father. Apparently he had done something similar to her when he met her.

Arthur was back in the morning, Gwaine not far behind him with Merlin's mountain of furs. As much as he wanted to stay in bed those furs were warmer than his entire chamber. He was soon huddling close to Gwaine as the man wrapped his third layer around him.

"We're going riding again I'm afraid," Gwaine said.

"What about the coronation?"

It was he whole reason they were here after all.

"Arthur's still going. You, me and Lancelot however..."

Merlin couldn't help the groan that escaped him, "Not Lancelot. Can't we bring Percival?"

Arthur huffed behind him, "What's wrong with Lancelot?"

"He's too loyal to you for starters," Merlin said. "Then there's the fact he's tried to skewer me. On more than one occasion I might add."

"Good," Arthur said, clapping him on the shoulder. Merlin nearly toppled from the force and he could tell Arthur knew this too from his grin. "At least I know Lancelot won't be seduced by you."

"I can't figure out if that was a compliment or not," Merlin mused, watching as Arthur pulled another blush. "Are you saying you would be seduced by me should I try?"

"Watch yourself Merlin," Arthur warned.

"Or what? You going to stab or kiss me?"

It was only with Gwaine stepping in that he avoided a punch to the face. Pushing Arthur back just before his fist let loose and hoisting a hissing Merlin on to his back, he ran as best as he could down to the stables.

"You should learn to be nicer," Gwaine said, setting him down to get his new horse from the stable boy.

"I am nice," Merlin said. "Too nice for my own good. You're living proof of that."

Gwaine snorted, "I knew you liked me."

He helped Merlin up, seating himself behind him easily before moving him around. The furs were draped more securely, and with an added thought Gwaine even pushed some underneath Merlin to cushion the ride.

Lancelot rode up next to them. The very essence of what a knight should look like as he sat nobly on his horse. He spared a good morning to them, his eyes however, were trained on the castle that fell behind them as the horses moved. Something told Merlin that Arthur was the only one who wanted Lancelot to go with Gwaine and Merlin.

"It's just a coronation," Gwaine said, as if reading the both of their thoughts.

"It's Arthur's coronation," Lancelot said. "I should be there."

"So you can hold his cup?" Gwaine chuckled. "He has enough knights there to do that for him. Besides, this isn't a happy day. You and I both know he'd rather be out here than in there. Even if he was an awful king."

Lancelot looked to be pretending not to hear that last part. Merlin gathered they had moved on to the subject of Arthur's father. Having only seen the man a few times, and most of those to threaten his people, he couldn't really form an opinion on the man. Nevertheless, Merlin remembered, he had been Arthur's father. Never having met his own he could only guess what it must be like for him. Gwaine's comment about being nice came back to him, maybe it wouldn't kill him to be a tad easier on the newly made orphan.

They rode for two hours before stopping at the lake. Merlin nearly wept. He could see his mother, her red tail flashing under the ice as she, probably, warded the young from the top.

Unfortunately, the reason for why they were here wasn't because of his mother. Taking to Gwaine's bank Lancelot took both of their reigns as Gwaine disappeared a moment. Returning, he stuffed something in Merlin's face.

"Stop it," he snapped, warding Gwaine off again.

"That's the whole reason you're here Merlin. Now sniff it," Gwaine ordered.

"What?"

Sighing, Gwaine explained. "Your nose Merlin. Gaius told us last night when you went to bed. He said you were still, mostly a merman. Which means a strong nose. Now a hound's good, but I know for a fact your kind can track someone months after they've been in one place. So sniff."

When the rag of material that used to be Mordred's blanket came to him again Merlin did as he was bade.


	12. Chapter 12

Merlin had the strangest dream.

They were by the lake, him and Mordred. The sun was shining, warming the grass beneath them. Merlin could hear the birds that chirped and the water lapping at the lake shore. He was almost convinced this wasn't his imagination. However his tail didn't feel right. But Mordred was making that better. He had been calling out every colour he could find as he ran his fingers over Merlin's fin. Blue, gold, silver... He moved up, his hands skimming the scales as they went still calling out colours. When he reached skin he straddled Merlin. Comfortable again he continued his exploration.

"You're so soft Merlin," he complimented.

"Thanks," Merlin purred back.

Even if it was a dream it felt amazing. The gently strokes growing more firm as Mordred drew himself back up.

"I miss you," he said. "It's no fun here."

Something was niggling at Merlin's mind. Telling him he should be paying more attention, asking something important. Mordred was keeping him from conscious thought.

Instead of trying to fight the daze he sat up, winding his fingers in Mordred's hair. "Well I'm here now. Let's have fun."

Mordred didn't need to be told twice. The dream shifted until Mordred was just as undressed as he was, and Merlin realized this was the best thing Mordred could have done. He was like water, silk against him. His mouth fervent and hips rocking slightly as they slid down to the grass again.

"Miss you," Mordred moaned. "So much."

Mordred's hips moved more frantically. Until they stopped abruptly. His hands grasped Merlin's jaw, awareness of the outside world seeping through. Mordred was missing, they were looking for him. Merlin was about to ask where he was when Mordred kissed him again. Effectively shutting him up.

"Listen," he hissed. "There's a man. A Catha. He's acting on Morgana's behest and has Gaius. She's looking for you. I don't know if Gaius knows anything and he's broken through one of my walls. He's stopped now, I had to distract him long enough to get this message to you. So stop looking."

"Mordred-"

Another quick kiss was planted on him.

"Stop looking."

Mordred seemed to blur on top of him. His clean skin growing muddied. Cuts and bruises littered what had been unblemished white and his chest covered by a torn tunic. The same tunic that he had wore the day he ran off.

It was gone in a moment, the other familiar Mordred back, but with him was a change. The sky was no longer sunny. It darkened like a shadow had walked its way behind them. Mordred was looking up in alarm, his eerie blue eyes snapping back to Merlin. Drinking him in like this was the last image he was ever going to get.

"I miss you," he said.

Merlin woke up.

Arthur grumbled next to him. The king, despite his voiced dislike with Merlin, apparently had no issue cuddling up with him at night as he flung his leg over.

Replaying what Mordred said again and again until it was in his head he shoved Arthur awake.

He was both pleased and horrified when Merlin finished his tale. Staying put he ordered a guard to go search Gaius' chambers to verify what Merlin was saying was the truth. Leaving the two of them in an awkward silence, huddled under Arthur's furs until the guard came back.

Gwaine hadn't been happy to part with Merlin. They had returned three days after setting off with no leads and Merlin chilled to the bone. It had been with great reluctance that Arthur offer his bed to Merlin. For his part Merlin had been so happy to be warm again he couldn't come up with a good jibe and left the king alone the first night they shared a bed. Four days and Merlin wished he had at least snapped his teeth at the king. Any fear Arthur had for Merlin left when he woke up the first morning alive.

Even now he was happy to sling an arm around Merlin while they waited

Gwaine came in before the guard. Kicking Arthur out his own bed he draped his cloak around Merlin's shoulders, not needing verification to know Merlin was telling the truth.

"We need to set out," Gwaine said.

The guard came in once he said so, confirming that Gaius was indeed gone. He had sent out search parties to look for the physician. But even as he said so he reminded Arthur Gaius was old. There wasn't any good reason why he would be wandering around at this hour.

Arthur was growing more and more sullen with every piece of news he got. Taking a pose by the window he sent the guard to wake the rest of his knights.

Ignoring Arthur Merlin repeated Mordred's warning.

"He said to stop looking."

"That's because he's an idiot. We need to go get for him," Gwaine called over again.

Arthur waved him off.

Gwaine appealed to Merlin instead. "You said it yourself, he was hurt Merlin. Do you honestly want to leave him there?"

"No." Even the reminder of that beaten up face had his blood boiling. "I was just saying what Mordred warned. If he asks I did everything I could to stop you going after him."

Catching onto his meaning Gwaine shed the first smile he had in weeks. Well, it was more of a smirk. But Merlin was willing to take it. Gwaine really hadn't been himself ever since Mordred disappeared.

Helping Merlin to his feet the two of them started making plans.

"You're not leaving," Arthur protested.

"Mordred's in trouble," Merlin said, the only argument he actually needed to win this little battle.

Arthur still seemed to have a problem. Motioning to his knights when they came in the room they surrounded Gwaine and Merlin. Effectively stopping them from leaving.

"We need a plan you idiots," Arthur said. "This Catha person isn't some random thug. He's managed to get in and out of Camelot undetected and... What is that thing you do? The mind thing." Arthur waved it away. "Well anyway he got past Mordred's defences. I don't know much about magic but your tone suggests that's probably not an easy feat. We can't go in there unprepared."

Gwaine huffed settling into his battle stance as he challenged Arthur. "Well you better think of something quick princess. Otherwise Merlin and I will be leaving without you."

Arthur did work quick. Within an hour he had servants finalising their saddles and sentries posted in case something else happened.

Mounted and ready Gwaine took his horse, with Merlin on top, to the front. Scent caught, Merlin was guiding them through Camelot's citadel and into the woods.

The Catha were on horseback. The scent was still high in the air, settling on branches where he had accidentally brushed against. The Catha had gleamed something from his time as a torturer and tried to keep to the waters. It didn't do him much good. Merlin lived in the waters, he knew what stream had been recently crossed. He knew when something had gone downstream or upstream. He'd been tracking prey since his fangs had grown in and nearly laughed at the Catha's idea of evasion.

It dawned on Merlin that he was enjoying himself. He supposed he could see how Arthur enjoyed hunting. On horseback there was a definite different thrill. Even more so when they took to the ground. It was like one big lake with more things to creep across and hide behind. Any moment he could be spotted and Merlin's heart thrilled at the idea. Even more so when the end result would be Mordred. His druid, back with him.

"Stay here," Arthur hissed, pushing Merlin into the dirt until he sat. "We'll be back shortly."

Quick hand motions and the knights were splitting up with only Lancelot left behind.

The man had went up in his mental knight hierarchy, bypassing annoying where, he was afraid, Arthur was eternally stuck and joining Percival in the tolerable category. The reason for being on day three when Gwaine was being a stubborn prat pressing them on without food or rest the knight had been the one to take a stand and drag him back to Camelot.

Even so Merlin didn't like being told to sit when he was their best chance of finding Mordred. This man had magic. Did they not think he could disarm them with only a few well placed words?

Apparently not.

Lancelot even laughed at Merlin when he posed the rhetoric to him.

"We've taken down sorcerers in far greater numbers than this," he said. Although Merlin noted it wasn't so much glee at having slain a sorcerer. Maybe Lancelot wasn't such a lost cause.

Filing that away for later Merlin heard himself saying, "That's probably because most of them weren't sorcerers. Believe it or not some people just live with them because they see them as people. The druids were made up of more mothers, husbands and children than magic users."

"A frown came over Lancelot's face. "I thought all druids were magic users."

"No. The druids are people who worship the earth. Nature, cycles all that stuff. Now can we save this lesson on druid history for later and focus on rescuing my druid," he snapped.

They sat outside for ten minutes. When twenty went past Merlin sent Lancelot a 'see' look and braced himself against a tree. He didn't care what Arthur said he was going in and helping.

Lancelot seemed to be having the same idea since he didn't stop Merlin. Instead he picked up his sword and took Merlin's arm to help him.

Together they walked into the cavern. It was dark for all of two twists before torches lit up the walls.

Grunts of pain sounded ahead. Leon was out cold when they got to him. His sword metres away he wasn't waking any time soon. Setting Merlin against the wall Lancelot dragged his friend over to the wall, sitting him up and going for Elyan who was peaking out the next cavern.

The knights were laid out like a trail. Percival, Arthur and finally Gwaine. All of them were unconscious, disarmed before they could even try and rescue Mordred.

The grunts came again, followed by a tortured scream. Not waiting for Lancelot Merlin stumbled along the wall until he was walking into a circle of fire. Two stone dais' faced each other. On one was Gaius, the man struggling against the mental torture the man at the edge of the room was delivering. The other had Mordred, and with him Morgana.

She was stroking his hair, slapping him lightly as if she was trying to wake him up. Her doting on Mordred explained why Arthur was just unconscious instead of dead.

Even from his perch Merlin could tell Mordred wasn't in good condition. Red anger boiled in him. It called his magic forth. With barely a flick of his fingers the fire diminished, whatever enchantment the sorcerer was using it for halting as Merlin struggled over to Mordred.

"Get away from him," he hissed when he got close enough.

Morgana's eyes were glowing gold, trying to throw him back. It was just her luck that Merlin wasn't in the mood to let her have her way. His own magic barely had to try to stop hers in its path.

"Away," he repeated, sending her back with his own pulse of magic.

With the same strength it took to climb up next to Mordred he was whispering words he didn't know he knew and healing his cuts.

He knew he couldn't carry Mordred out by himself. Not to mention the Catha was regaining his strength and Morgana was picking herself up.

Thankfully Lancelot was on hand. The gallant knight grabbing Gaius and taking him to where he had stored the rest of the rescue party.

"No," Morgana howled, her eyes still gold as her magic fought for freedom. "Get them. I need to know who Emrys is."

The Catha did as he was told, scurrying away from Morgana and, from the shouts, calling Lancelot into battle.

Death in her eyes she turned her attention back to Merlin.

"Don't even try it," he growled, well aware his teeth were on show.

It was that which made Morgana realize who she was talking too. A softening of her ice blue eyes as she held her hands up in a sign of peace.

"I remember you. You're the mermaid- man at the lake. How-?," she amended.

He rolled his eyes turning his attention to the still healing Mordred. Colour was back in his cheeks already. Another couple of hours and he would be awake.

He could feel Morgana coming nearer, smell her as she stroked Mordred's hair. "I never meant for him to end up here. He was lingering outside. The Catha thought him a spy. I stopped him as soon as I realized Mordred was here. I don't want to hurt him."

"Then go away. We don't need your help nor want it."

Where was Lancelot? Surely it didn't take this long to fight. Yet he could still hear grunting and yelling as the knight tried to one up the sorcerer.

"I'm not your enemy here," she snapped,

Merlin gestured to Mordred, "Then who did that? Who have the order to put the Catha to work, because I know it wasn't me."

Morgana looked like she had been slapped. Reeling back as her face twisted in anguish. "He was never-"

"Yet he was. So leave, now, because I'm not in the mood to be merciful twice."

He sent a pulse of magic, knocking her again to prove he wasn't kidding around. Something must have registered in her mind since she didn't try and fight Merlin again. Fixing herself she strode into the echoes of Lancelot's fight. Merlin sent another pulse of magic just in case she was thinking about offing the knights before she left.

When the knights awoke they all set off back to Camelot. Since the court physician was one of the invalids Arthur let Merlin heal Gaius before they entered the citadel. Arthur was lucky. Merlin was still feeling the hype from the cavern and was able to speak the correct words that had Gaius upright in seconds.

Mordred was put in Arthur's chambers. The king himself, once he was declared okay, went to appease his council. The rest of the knights went about their daily duties leaving Gwaine with him. The pair of them took up either side of Arthur's large bed.

Merlin was glad when he saw Gwaine fall asleep. Passing out was more accurate. All the stress and anguish from the last few weeks leaving him and sending him into a peaceful rest.

Merlin wished he could join them. But he wagered he never would be comfortable sleeping on land. So he contented himself with keeping watch.

"I told you not to come," Mordred said later.

Merlin rolled his eyes, sliding down the sheets until he was sharing Mordred's pillow.

"I wasn't going to leave you there."

Mordred looked like he was going to argue, before shutting his mouth and curling closer so his head was burrowed in Merlin's neck.

"Your tail's gone," Mordred said instead.

Merlin's arms raised, grasping Mordred loosely. He really couldn't believe they had found him.

"I changed when I thought I could help. Forgot you had the reversal spell."

He felt Mordred smiling against his neck.

Feeling Mordred was healthy enough Merlin's hands involuntarily tightened as he started in on the first part of his two day long rant.

During the part where he repeated Arthur's stories about what could have happened to him Gwaine woke. Not sparing time to right himself the man joined in Merlin's shouting with a few choice curses.

If that wasn't bad enough for Mordred Arthur delivered his own version when he came back at nightfall.

The next few days didn't go so well for Mordred either. He was shouted at, coddled, guarded even when he went for a bath. It was truly ridiculous, and Merlin wasn't the one on the receiving end. He could only guess the cabin fever Mordred must be feeling.

But the boy didn't complain. He held his tongue and let everyone greet him back into Camelot.

At night he was put under guard. Arthur had learnt his lesson from the castle that it was a bad idea to keep him away from Merlin. As well as it being a bad idea to keep them together as well. Really he shouldn't have been able to come up with a solution. Yet he had.

Naturally the king took the most danger. He had refused to let Mordred turn his legs back on the pretence that Merlin caused less trouble that way. He also kept their arrangement going from when they were looking for Mordred. Night after night Merlin was forced to put up with Arthur as he slung legs and arms everywhere in his sleep. Across the room was Mordred under a nest of blankets with Gwaine sleeping a few feet away in case Mordred decided to go walk about during the knight. Merlin had questioned Arthur's judgement when he put Gwaine there instead of one of his other knights. But he had to relent that Gwaine was a good choice- at least for Arthur- when the man had followed Mordred like a puppy that first night when he needed to relieve himself.

A week passed and things died down. Mordred was no longer being shouted at. Instead everyone was just glad he was safe. Arthur put him to work while the ice still covered the lake by having him polish swords and chainmail. Mordred would come over to him when he was finished with blisters and cuts.

To which Merlin couldn't help but say, "You brought this on yourself when you left."

Mordred just rolled his eyes. Until one day he came back with a bruise on his face.

Gaius had taken more than a passing interest in Merlin. He had been teaching him how to read along with writing down every observation he could about Merlin's kind. Which meant Merlin often spent his days in Gaius' foul smelling room.

The bruise today hadn't been from an accident with a pommel. Instead he told Merlin that Arthur had brought him onto the training field.

"Something about helping Gwaine focus," He waved off.

Merlin hummed, a far more sinister thought brewing in his mind as Mordred went on about his afternoon with the knights.

He brought it up when Arthur came back to his chambers. Making sure Mordred and Gwaine were asleep he turned and pinned Arthur in his bed.

"What are playing at?" He demanded.

The king, for his part, didn't look scared. Rolling his eyes he tried to brush off Merlin's hands from his shoulders. When that failed he just lay still and sent Merlin his most withering look.

"Playing at?"

"Inviting Mordred to training. Making him polish your armour and swords. Don't think I don't know what you're doing. You're trying to persuade him over. Show him how good being a knight is. Just because you tricked Gwaine doesn't mean you can trick him. Or me," Merlin finished with a growl.

Arthur peered at him, as if seeing him for the first time. "I never understood why you wanted Mordred back. Your kind hates us and yet... he should be with me Merlin. I can keep him safe. Show him how to keep himself safe-"

"Put him under the axe when you tire of him," Merlin continued. "It's not as simple as you seem to think.

Arthur flinched. "Well it should be."

"Why?"

"I should be asking you that," Arthur said.

A stalemate came over them. On one side Arthur, the king of Camelot who should have been the ideal person for Merlin to release Mordred into the care of. Yet his stance on magic of any kind put a stop to that. Then there was Merlin. He should have torn Mordred's throat out as soon as his voice broke. Yet neither of them had.

"I like him," Merlin said.

"So do I," Arthur agreed.

"I want to keep him safe," Merlin tried again.

"That makes two of us. Which makes me question why we're fighting."

It was easy for Arthur to pry his hands off this time. Arthur's words alone had put Merlin in a sort of disbelieving shock.

The king sat them up, Merlin sliding down until he could feel the fur cover most of his lower back.

With more bravery than Merlin thought the man possessed he held his hand out, "I suggest a truce. A real one. Between us we agree that we should do everything we can to keep Mordred safe. To make sure he grows up without the hardships he's faced in the past. Which means we can no longer be at each other's throats." His fingers wiggled between them. "What do you say? The first alliance between Camelot and magic in decades?"

Merlin wanted to shake his hand. It would be the ideal for Mordred. Arthur giving his protection on land now they no longer had Gwaine. Still something kept him back and had him asking, "Why?"

Arthur's hand fell slightly, a sigh escaping before he looked around the room like someone was watching them. Edging closer he said, "Because you're not the only one the dragon talks to."


	13. Chapter 13

"The dragon..." Merlin felt like the world had stopped.

Everything was sharp and slow. The air stale from hours of confined firelight. The room silent save for the whisper of his voice as it carried over to Arthur.

It all crashed down again as Arthur smirked. "You honestly didn't think he'd leave me alone did you? As soon as he realised you weren't going to turn up he called me down. It took some time. I don't have magic after all. But when I finally turned up... he had a lot to say."

Arthur went silent, giving Merlin the chance to back out. He wished he could. He wished he was one of those people too scared or just so content with their lives that they would leave things like this alone. But Merlin was curious by nature. He always had been ever since he poked his head above the water and realised his world was part of a much larger one.

So he said "Like?"

Arthur had been summoned down to the dragons' cave to be told about this destiny of his. Apparently he was to unite the people of this land and create a kingdom of peace and prosperity. All things Merlin had heard himself. The dragon had put a lot of emphasis in uniting _everyone_ in his speech, elaborating that he meant magic when Arthur drew a blank.

That had thrown him. A prince taught from birth that magic was this thing. This horrible thing that needed to be destroyed, only to find he was meant to bring it back to the kingdom. His kingdom. To undo all of his father's hard work.

He had scampered out of the dragons cave in a rage that would become legendary among the servants. The ten black days of Camelot. Arthur neither set foot outside his chamber nor allowed anyone in. Those who tried were assaulted with pillows or anything that was at hand, and called things so vile not even a tavern girl could feign calm in the face of it.

Gaius was the one to pull him out of this mood. The dragon had coerced the old man into his game with some threat- Arthur assumed. With a pointed nod to the caves below and the hint someone wanted to explain, Arthur ventured down that night.

The dragon had went into this speech, Arthur said. It went on about the idea of magic and why Arthur was wrong to take his father's point of view

"He told me about my mother," Arthur said, a glazed look in his eyes.

That hadn't been the result of magic he said. But his fathers greed and need for an heir. Thanks to his fathers decision his mother had unwillingly paid the price for his life.

"I wanted to kill him for what he did. But Kilgarragh stopped me. As much as he would have liked my fathers blood he said it would have ruined me. As bad as he was he was still my father at the end of the day. Besides, he had something more pressing for me to do."

Finding him.

Merlin had been at the core of the dragons words. Merlin was the one who would help him create this kingdom. Keep him safe and guide him on his quest to becoming a great king.

Where was he, Arthur had asked. Which was when the dragon told him he didn't know. That Merlin should have been here by now. Already helping Arthur. He asked the blonde to look around, ride everywhere in the kingdom just in case Merlin had gotten into some kind of situation.

Arthur had came back empty handed. The dragon had despaired before telling Arthur to keep an eye out and going on to another part of the prophecy.

"Mordred," he said nodding over to the blankets.

The dragon had delivered the same warning he had to Merlin. Mordred was dangerous and if Arthur ever saw him he should kill him.

Arthur had taken the warning in stride. He was a hunter, more importantly a prince. He knew what a threat was and meant to his life. As far as he was concerned he would follow out the dragon's warning and kill Mordred when he saw him.

Arthur went on to say he had been hunting with the knights when they happened upon his lake.

They had heard stories and warnings from villagers, and even Gaius himself, about the sinister creatures that lived within. Unfortunately they had been chased by a man eating beast at the time and couldn't be bothered to listen to such stories and had taken the boat.

That was the first time Arthur had seen Merlin, and Merlin remembered the day well.

The three knights and four servants had been crammed in to the wooden boat, oozing a delicious smell that had his kind swarming underneath them in seconds.

Merlin had taken a servant before going back up for seconds. It was then that he had seen Arthur. All fright with his sword swinging at his side. He was hilarious, so Merlin had called the others off. Watching Arthur sail to the other side of the lake frightened beyond words was the best thing he had seen all day.

Arthur ignored the smirk on Merlin's face as he went back to his story.

He had came back to the lake after another unfortunate circumstance and crossed it with no hassle. It was a few times after that when he suspected the mermaids were leaving him alone.

"Well, you know about my visits," Arthur said.

He went on to after he left Merlin and Mordred came to visit.

"He was just a child," Arthur said.

Merlin remembered Mordred well. Small with eyes too big for his head. Not to mention the quietest child Merlin had ever met.

Arthur told about his father's demand for Mordred to be found. His mentors death. Arthur finding him in Morgana's chambers.

Arthur told him he managed to get Mordred out and to a druid who took him away. It was only here that Arthur learnt it was Mordred, the Mordred Kilgarragh had warned about.

"The next time I actually saw him was in the citadel after the raids. He was older... I told myself I should run him through," Arthur confessed. "But I couldn't. He was still just a child. Innocent."

He went on to talk about Gwaine. The man had first came to Camelot for the taverns. He had been banned from every other tavern in a five mile radius of Camelot and was running out of suppliers.

Arthur had met him when the man tried to stick his tab on Arthur. The man claimed he was seeking out compensation for what one of the knights had done to him. A broken rib. Arthur had been annoyed until he met the man. Pity had swayed him from having the man arrested, his knight had really done a number on him.

Since then Arthur saw Gwaine here and there. A wary alliance formed from Arthur recognising the flaws in his fathers men and Gwaine not being afraid to do something about them.

When Gwaine had offered to take Mordred off his hands Arthur knew he could trust him to take care of the boy. If he slipped a few coins Gwaine's way to ensure this there was no harm.

"Plus I needed Mordred gone fast before I changed my mind. Or worse, allowed my father to see him. He still hadn't forgotten the boy who escaped Camelot twice under his rule," Arthur commented, his eyes still stuck on Mordred.

Of course it wasn't until Arthur banned Gwaine that he learned Merlin was the merman he had spotted at the lake.

The man had let it slip during a card game against Lancelot. Arthur was watching with the rest of his knights. The trustful ones anyway. They were keeping Gwaine from sight of the other ones that would report him to Uther.

"She's alright I suppose," he had said, looking over to a fleeing barmaid. "But I'm saving myself for a special kiss."

"Your mother I suppose. Doubt there's any other girl in here that's willing to kiss you," Arthur joked.

Gwaine had laughed good naturedly, far too drunk to be safe walking back to the lake on his own, Arthur noted.

"You would see it that way princess. After all the girls you see want you dead."

The knights snickered remembering Arthur's luck with women.

"So who is this girl then?" Lancelot asked when they all calmed.

Gwaine took a swig of his ale shaking his head as he went. "No girl. A merman, Merlin. Has the wit of a fox that one. Teeth as well. He's a vicious little thing."

That had sobered the knights up. Some of them shocked that the stories of the lake were confirmed. There really was merfolk living there. Others that Gwaine was actually friendly with one. Only Leon and Lancelot had been there when Arthur cornered them after all. Arthur himself had sat there stunned as Gwaine lamented about his far off kiss. Not because of the merfolk. He had already known they existed. Definitely not because Gwaine was chummy with one either. But because of Merlin.

He had went to the dragon that night with the news that he had found Merlin. Only to learn that the dragon had known for ages that Merlin wasn't exactly human.

Another challenge posed when Arthur calmed himself down enough to listen again.

"The druid boy is with him," Kilgarragh had said.

"You were meant to be with me Merlin," Arthur said bringing them back into the now. "Instead fate placed you with a tail and sided you with my murderer."

"So... what? You obviously aren't planning on killing Mordred. That much you've made known," Merlin stated.

"So I'm trying to set things right. If not right then better. Mordred's no killer, and if I can help it I'm not going to give him a reason to turn down that path."

Merlin had to hold his tongue as Arthur spoke. He didn't know what kind of Mordred he knew but the one Merlin knew wasn't exactly all flowers and rainbows. He had willingly led more than one man to his death without batting an eyelash.

"So you plan on smothering him until he likes you," Merlin said. "Hmm, don't see that going wrong."

Arthur scoffed, "See this is why I thought the dragon was insane. How could something like you possibly be my fate?"

He came back to himself as soon as he finished speaking. A tired sigh escaping as he deflated.

"No. We can't keep doing this," He said. "Merlin, the whole point of before was so we could come to some kind of agreement... so stop it," He reprimanded, even flicking Merlin's nose like he was a wayward dog. "Now, we need to think about what comes next."

"Next? I haven't even agreed to now," Merlin pointed out.

"For Mordred," Arthur said. "Now I was thinking of moving him into Morgana's old chambers."

"No," Merlin said.

His head was swimming. He still hadn't completely processed Arthur's story and already Arthur was making permanent arrangements for Mordred. Arrangements Merlin didn't like the sound of so soon after Mordred's return.

"We're not doing this," Merlin started. "Not behind his back. For once in your life you need to ask him what he wants and actually listen. I'm not having you drive him away again," He growled.

Arthur held his hands up. "Okay."

However Merlin knew he didn't mean it. There was just something about Arthur that still thought he knew best.

It was proved when Arthur turned his attention back onto Merlin. "Now you. What am I going to do with you?"

"Nothing," Merlin said, not wanting to encourage this line of thinking. "I'm going back to my lake as soon as it melts."

Arthur scoffed. "No," like it had already been decided.

Merlin didn't doubt that he would be met with armed resistance and put under house arrest as soon as the first snow melted.

"Perhaps we can put you in there with him. I'm sure when you get a hold of your feet properly you could be good protection for him," Arthur mused.

"Stop talking," Merlin begged. "Just shut up."

"But you agreed," Arthur said. "We're forming an alliance. Building the future."

"Shut up," Merlin said again. "We'll talk about this in the morning."

He couldn't handle this anymore tonight.

"Merlin-" Arthur protested.

"No. Tomorrow," Merlin said turning away before Arthur could say anything else.

He didn't sleep. It was hard enough on an ordinary night. Tonight with Arthur's story, expectations and potential future bearing down oh him it was nigh on impossible.

He was snappy the next morning. Truthfully he didn't think he was. But with the looks Gwaine and Mordred were shooting him over breakfast it was obvious they knew something was amiss.

"Arthur's going to take me onto the training field again today," Mordred said. "I'm thinking of telling him no. Maybe spend the day with you?"

Merlin could tell he was trying to see what had riled him up. Truthfully the idea of Mordred spending some time with Arthur was actually part of the problem.

"Do what you like," Merlin said.

Gwaine tried next with "I heard there was a problem in the kennels. Five dogs are looking to be put down, looks like you'll be having a good breakfast as well."

"Suppose," Merlin agreed, thinking about Morgana's chambers. Were they as spacious as this?

Gwaine and Mordred shared a look, the latter of which stayed behind when Gwaine was summoned by the knights.

"What did Arthur say?" Mordred guessed.

"Dragon stuff."

That had perked Mordred's interest.

"Let me guess, he wants you to team up with Arthur and kill me," Mordred smirked as he finished.

"Basically," Merlin agreed. "But Arthur's against it so don't worry."

"I wasn't." He held his arm out for Merlin to take. Gaius wanted to study his teeth again today. Together they made their way through the halls of Camelot. "So if Arthur doesn't want to kill me why are you worried?"

"You'll find out soon," Merlin said, knowing Arthur wouldn't leave the matter alone.

True enough Arthur brought it up over supper. He had brought up the hounds from the kennels. Tying them in the corner of the room he had just motioned Merlin over to them as he brought Mordred over to the table.

The exclaimed, "What!" told Merlin that Arthur had revealed his great plan.

He managed to get the last bone down his throat when Mordred started shouting. When the blood was gone Mordred had already swore to kill Arthur three times and leave seven. At least Arthur knew Mordred had a vicious streak now, Merlin thought.

He was threatening to kill Arthur again when Merlin took a seat at the table.

"Mordred stop it," Merlin interrupted. "If you keep repeating the same threats they loose their potency."

Mordred growled his finger pointing at Arthur who stood with his arms crossed. The very image of calm.

"He's going to keep us here!"

Merlin nodded, "I know. He's also said he's going to lift the ban on magic."

That threw Mordred a bit. "Is that true?" He asked Arthur.

The king didn't look calm now. "Well... It's not certain... maybe..."

Merlin threw him a look, on the inside he was laughing at Arthur's panic. "Well if you're going to have us live with you and help you build this brilliant kingdom the first thing you should do is lift the ban on magic. Right?"

It was the hardest "Yes," Merlin had ever seen come out of Arthur's mouth. "I suppose that would be the first step," He said more to himself than to Merlin and Mordred.

"You're going to let me do magic in Camelot?" Mordred asked, just as sceptical as Merlin on this part.

Arthur seemed more sure as he said "Yes," this time. His calm returning as Merlin could literally see the plans starting to form in his mind.

Mordred turned to him like this was the most ludicrous thing he had ever heard. Merlin agreed with him on that. The idea that a Pendragon, even Arthur, would say 'yes' to allowing magic in his kingdom was surreal.

Arthur snapped their gaze with a pointed, "Stay here," Before striding out of the room.

He came back with Gwaine, who took his seat immediately beside Merlin, and the rest of his favourite knights. Motioning them to sit he took his own place at the head.

"You're all here for a specific reason," Arthur started. "Last night I told Merlin about the dragon." He waved away Gwaine's confused look, Merlin promising to tell him later what he had missed. "And since have come to a, I admit rather fast, decision. It's time to start implementing some changes in Camelot. The first of these is that I'm going to repeal the ban on magic. I'm going to announce it to the council tomorrow, but before that I need to know if I have your support."

Arthur had taken a big, stupid in Merlin's eyes, risk by doing this. These were his best fighters. They may not kill him, but they could always leave.

They all looked shocked no matter what they were going to do. All but Lancelot. The man was sitting there waiting for Arthur to go on. When he didn't he immediately pledged his allegiance.

Gwaine leaned in close to him, "This is another trick right?"

Merlin rolled his eyes, "Wish it was."

"The kid?"

Merlin saw Mordred standing on the outskirts, curious but wary about what was going on. He obviously wanted this. Some part of him did anyway. He also knew that Mordred was thinking ahead. About what this would mean for him. What this would mean for him and Merlin.

He wondered if Arthur had told Mordred that Merlin was also meant to stay in this perfect world he wanted to create.

"He's confused. It's going to be a rough couple of days," Merlin said.

Merlin saw an inner war in Gwaine, ending when duty to his promise won out.

"Seems like a stupid idea Arthur," He said. "The council's going to do everything they can to stop it. But if it means Mordred can visit without fear of impalement I don't see why I should oppose it."

The other knights followed soon after, leaving Arthur at the head of the table looking more like a king than he ever had.

 _'This is going to be a nightmare,_ ' He heard from Mordred.

Merlin had to agree.


	14. Chapter 14

It went predictably bad.

Not at first. The council had a face to maintain after all, and congratulated Arthur on this massive step. They staged their warnings gently. Saying to him that this group or that group would be opposed. Naturally this or that group was actually them. Merlin knew before Arthur strode into his chambers in a strop that the council had been talking behind his back.

"They're planning on creating a distraction for me. Put off the bill for as long as possible," he huffed.

Merlin just sat there, not needing to say anything. He knew this was coming. Not to mention worse when the council realized this wasn't some passing fancy and Arthur was actually going to bring back magic.

To soothe the council, Arthur's words, he decided to bring Mordred to his next meeting. Merlin was and always would be banned, he said, despite what the dragon proclaimed. Apparently the council didn't trust Merlin with or without a tail. Merlin had to agree with them.

Despite not being present Mordred, in his head, told him what was going on.

' _He wants me to perform magic in front of them_ ,' Mordred narrated. ' _One of the council members has fainted_. _I haven't even done anything yet. Oh, there's another one. And more shouting... Do you think Arthur would let us go down to the caverns tomorrow? I fancy a swim. Bet you're dying for one.'_

 _'Maybe,'_ Merlin said, smirking at Mordred's bored suggestion.

Even a shouting match didn't look to be making the council meeting more interesting.

 _'And there's Gwaine again. Oh triple Goddess he's actually stripping this time.'_

It was Gwaine's main argument to the council. That he, a lowly man, has managed to survive all these years, unharmed, while living with a sorcerer.

 _'Arthur's shouting at him. Percival's restrained him. How on earth... he's still stripping.'_

Gwaine later told him he had heard a slight against his manhood he needed to rectify, leading to more exposure and him eventually being kicked out.

Merlin wasn't surprised when the man dropped down into a seat next to him, his breeches still being tied. "What's happening now?" he asked, knowing without question Mordred was feeding him information.

"The council's finally quiet. Mordred's trying to decide on a spell."

 _'What's the water one again? The one you showed me?'_

Some time passed. Mordred had been quiet ever since he had performed. Merlin was starting to grow worried.

Eventually he heard, _'Arthur's asking about druid tribes. He wants to bring them into Camelot.'_

Merlin relayed as much to Gwaine, watching as twin horror dawned on his face.

 _'Tell him no Mordred,'_ Merlin said, turning to Gwaine. "They're going to be killed."

"On sight," Gwaine agreed.

 _'He won't listen to me,'_ Mordred panicked.

 _'Make him!'_ To Gwaine "Are there actually any druid clans still around Camelot?"

"Doubtful after the massacre. We would have seen them. Arthur's probably thinking about the ones in Mercia. They're the next closest."

 _'He's telling me to shut up. I'm about three seconds away from being arrested Merlin.'_

Merlin sighed telling Mordred to cease. He would have to deal with Arthur himself, maybe scare him into submission. Either way the druids couldn't come to Camelot.

Arthur wouldn't hear of it when the meeting finished.

"It took them two hours to get the council to agree on the matter Merlin. I'm not going back on my word now because you think it's a bad idea.."

"You're sentencing these people to death. There's no way the druids will be able to step foot inside of Camelot. Don't trust peoples words," he warned.

Still Arthur wouldn't hear of it. "The druids are the most peaceful people I can think of Merlin. If you want magic back then this is the only way it's going to happen."

Merlin was horrified to see the knights join Arthur for supper the next night. Mordred had been invited too, which meant Merlin was also there.

He knew just as Leon sat down what this was about. Could sense the words before Arthur asked each of his knights which one would be willing to ride out and deliver a summons to the druid clans.

Lancelot volunteered with only slight disappointment from Arthur. Merlin knew he had wanted Gwaine to take charge on this. The man had the best standing with the druids after all. He wasn't a known enemy, newly knighted so he couldn't be affiliated with past discretions. Not to mention he lived with and protected a druid. Really Gwaine would have been perfect for the job. Merlin hedged that Arthur would have suggested he take Mordred as well as a sign of Camelot's good intentions.

But Gwaine wasn't stupid and sided with Merlin fully on this issue. As far as he was concerned he wanted nothing to do with this movement.

"Besides," he said later, "Who's going to look after Merlin?"

Lancelot left the next morning with food, provisions and Arthur's royal seal. The knight asked Mordred before he left if there was anyone he wanted him to look out for. Merlin was more than curious to hear his answer. Another piece of the puzzle that had sprung up when Mordred ran away and hadn't yet been answered. It didn't look to be answered yet as well as Mordred said 'no' and waved him off.

With Lancelot and the invitations gone the council could do nothing more on that front but pray they declined Arthur's summons. If they did, the council would probably either say this was a sign the movement wasn't meant to be, or call them hostile and argue this was proof magic didn't want to come back.

That wasn't to say they had stopped trying altogether. Merlin scarcely had to poke his head outside before he was hearing gossip or secret meetings about Arthur's proposal.

Three days later the council called another meeting. Mordred wasn't asked for, in fact, while Arthur was in his meeting he had ordered Gwaine to help Mordred move into his old chambers. He had decided Morgana's were a bit too close to home, not to mention he knew every inch of his old chambers.

"Nowhere for you to hide," he had smirked at Merlin.

So they had moved what little things Mordred had gathered in his short time and took them across the castle to chambers Merlin remembered from his first stay in Camelot. The bathtub was even there.

Blankets were spread on Mordred's new bed, and the chess set placed carefully on their new table.

After three more seconds of things being moved Gwaine said. "Now what?"

Merlin barely had to think. He had been planning their route from the moment he picked up Mordred's furs. "Now we spy on the council meeting."

The three of them sleuthed through the castle. Gwaine showing them short cuts while Mordred and Merlin took it in turns to see if there was anyone about.

Somehow, and Merlin guessed there was alcohol involved, Gwaine had found a way on to the balcony overlooking the meeting room. It was a short staircase hidden behind a false wall.

"I think one of Arthur's ancestors must have used it as a place to meet women." The statement gaining more credence when Gwaine pointed to an old dress half torn and lying carelessly on a hook.

"Either that or a murder room," Merlin noted, eyeing the tears again.

 _'Will you two shut up,'_ Mordred snapped, having the smarts not to speak aloud.

Already he was perched behind the stone barrier of the balcony, his head just peaking above before hiding again.

 _'Sorry,'_ Merlin said, clamping a hand around Gwaine's mouth and shoving him over to Mordred.

They didn't even have to strain their ears to hear them, which was worrying in itself.

"-some of the responsibility off you," a council member proposed.

"For example?"

The man answered, "For example, I could oversee the new laws. Make sure they're airtight and up to date. We don't want a repeat of what happened sire."

"I see," Arthur said. Tapping could be heard, no doubt Arthur was pacing.

"Not good," Gwaine mumbled. "You should never fidget in a negotiation."

Mordred shushed him as Arthur spoke up again.

"So you would handle the technicalities. And someone else would no doubt take on another part, and another, leaving me with nothing to do but watch it all unfold."

"Exactly sire," the councilman said.

Merlin cringed, watching similar squints on Mordred and Gwaine. The man obviously didn't recognize Arthur's battle tone.

 _'I don't hear Gaius,'_ Merlin said. He couldn't even smell the man. Peaking above confirmed he wasn't present.

 _'I don't think he was invited'_ Mordred said back.

"Looks to me like a coup," Mordred whispered, so Gwaine wasn't left out. 'Not even Geoffrey's there. If they were going down this path they really should have worked to get them on side."

Merlin watched as Gwaine's hand went to the dagger in his belt. He was expecting danger.

Arthur started talking again, "You're meant to be my advisor's, so I'll forgive this one time. However if you try again to undermine me in this endeavour I suppose I'll have to find myself a new council. None of you are indispensable."

Without so much as a goodbye Arthur strutted out. The door slammed behind him leaving the council in a tense silence before buzzing into hissing conspiracies.

 _'Wanna bet he's heading straight to us?'_ Mordred said, the three of them hurrying out before they were caught.

True enough Arthur was waiting in his old chambers for them to come back. Mordred had the cunning to pick up a fruit platter on his way so they looked like they hadn't been up to no good.

Arthur bought it. Taking a hefty handful of grapes he regaled them with the nerve the council had to try and defy him.

"Since when did we become Arthur's confidants?" Merlin asked as Arthur appealed to Mordred.

Gwaine shrugged beside him, "So long as we're in his good books I wouldn't question it."

Just as the council went behind Arthur's back so did Arthur go behind theirs.

Bringing his knights, along with Gaius and Geoffrey, to his chambers he did the first smart thing Merlin since this whole débâcle started. He outlined what had happened. The problems he was having by trying to repeal this law and together, all night, they tried to think around them. Gaius was the first to berate Arthur. The man actually calling Arthur stupid before catching himself. Arthur sent Merlin a glare when his chuckles could be heard over Gaius' words. The man had told Arthur off for not doing this before hand.

"You don't start a war without a plan my lord," he said through gritted teeth.

"I didn't think the council would be my biggest problem," Arthur confessed.

"Of course they would. Many of them are your fathers men. Men who have gained their high standing from the purge alone. Replacing those who were accused. They probably think their jobs are at stake. Not to mention their actual views about this. You have to remember who it was that actually put peoples names on a list sire."

Geoffrey whole heartedly agreed with Gaius. Having Elyan fetch and carry, he brought up some of the more restricted books from the great purge as proof that these men played a great part in the slaughter of sorcerers. Even more books after that about the laws put in place and what specifically needed to be revoked.

Around the third candle-mark of the night Merlin dragged Mordred from the talks to cuddle near the fire with him. Not because he wanted company in his exile. But because Mordred was a few seconds short from falling off his seat in sleep.

Merlin was surprised a few days later when Arthur strode into his chambers. The scowl on his face showing that his first battle plan had not went off as he thought.

He couldn't help the taunting "Something wrong?" that slipped out as soon as Arthur stopped in front of him.

"What do I have to do Merlin? If you're really meant to be this great part in my destiny then tell me what I have to do."

"For starters you can stop snapping at me," Merlin quipped, growing serious when Arthur's expression darkened further. "I don't know. You went about this all wrong. Quite frankly I haven't any more clue than you what to do right now."

The bed jumped under him as Arthur sank down. "Wonderful," he sighed and promptly changed the subject. "How's Mordred settling in?"

Merlin pondered on that. "He's missing the outdoors."

"He can go out whenever he likes," Arthur said.

Merlin levelled a look at him, "You know that's not what I mean."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "You want to know what I think about Mordred?" Arthur asked him. Merlin didn't answer, knowing Arthur would continue whether he did or not. "I think Mordred likes it here. I think he likes anywhere I put him so long as you're there with him. And I think, for all your talk, that you would stay on land if he asked you to."

He felt uncomfortable after Arthur finished. "Does your thinking have a point?" he ended up asking.

Arthur just smirked at him, flicking his nose again before getting up and leaving.

Arthur's visit didn't go unnoticed. That night over supper Gwaine brought it up. Telling Merlin Leon had spotted Arthur leaving when Merlin asked. Throughout Gwaine's little announcement Merlin kept his eyes on Mordred. He looked a tad lost.

"It was nothing," Merlin said. "He was just frustrated with the council and Mordred wasn't here for him to pick on. So instead he bothered me for a while."

The lost look was gone and replaced with a grin. Mordred knew how much Merlin hated a one on one with Arthur.

"Anything interesting?" Mordred teased.

"Just something about you wanting me to stay with you," Merlin said back, loving the red that stole onto Mordred's cheeks.

"Well I do," Mordred muttered. "You're my friend."

Gwaine snorted, interrupting the soft moment between them. "Friend," he chuckled, avoiding Mordred's elbow easily.

Merlin cornered Mordred later when Gwaine had went back to his own chambers. For some reason he couldn't get Arthur's words out of his head.

Near sleep Mordred was always more that truthful. So Merlin had no qualms when he cuddled up beside him asking, "You want me to stay with you?"

Mordred's eyes were barely open, only a slither of blue peaking through. _'Of course,'_ he said.

Switching to his mind as well Merlin went on, _'You want me to stay here with you?'_

Mordred curled closer to him, _'Sure.'_

Which was all Merlin needed to know. Arthur had been right. Mordred wanted to stay, and he wanted Merlin with him. He was surprised to find he wasn't completely against that idea. Not the staying with Mordred part anyway.

 _'You know Arthur will eventually have you doing more than being his practice dummy.'_ Even the thought of Mordred serving Arthur had him laughing. He would have a scowl on his face no doubt. Not to mention Arthur would be wary of everything Mordred served him. Well, he should be if he was smart.

 _'Okay,'_ Mordred said, the end trailing off as his breaths evened out.

Mordred didn't remember their talk in the morning. He probably put it up to a dream, which was just as well because he had something more pressing to attend to.

They were brought to Arthur's chambers, the two of them, early. Arthur was seated behind his desk and quickly motioned them into the two in front of him as he picked up one of the three clasps on the table.

Merlin heard Mordred's intake of breath. "They said yes."

Arthur nodded, "That's what Lancelot tells me. Which means we have seven days to prepare for their arrival."

Arthur looked expectantly at Mordred. The boy not quite grasping why Arthur was telling him this.

Rolling his eyes Arthur said, "What exactly do Druids require? You used to be one of them..."

For the next hour Merlin was taught all about Druid customs. Throughout it all he wondered why he was there. Arthur could have just asked for Mordred and left him in the room. Everything became clear why when Arthur motioned over to him asking, "Will they mind him?"

Mordred pursed his lips saying "Depends."

"On?"

"On whether you feed him or not," half joking.

Merlin knew there was a serious side to this deliberation. If he wasn't fed he was cranky. If he was cranky he might scare off the druids.

With that cleared up Merlin was dismissed.

The next coming days Merlin saw nothing of Mordred. The boy was strapped to Arthur's side as he helped the decorations. Garlands were hung and streamers set. Tables were pushed together to make room for their coming guests.

Still Merlin heard the hissing of the court as they talked behind Arthur's back. The coming dignitaries were just making matters worse in their eyes. Merlin spent these days almost constantly with Gwaine. The two of them had the sense to listen to some of these talks and make plans. Escape plans.

"If all goes south I need to protect Arthur. I can't very well do that properly if I think you and Mordred are in danger," he said as they explored the underground caverns.

"So long as we get to the waters I can hide Mordred. At least until the danger's passed" Merlin reassured.

Gwaine hummed, "The boy still has his dagger doesn't he?"

Merlin shrugged, he didn't really pay attention to these things. "I'll steal one from the armoury if he hasn't."

They made sure to pass it before returning back to Merlin's chambers.

The druids arrived promptly in the seventh day. All three clans morphed into one as they walked up to the castle. Arthur had a parade of guards stationed down the path out of Camelot, just in case something happened. Really Merlin thought the druids would have had a better chance of survival if Arthur hadn't posted them. Something about a line of red was unsettling to him.

They made it to the great hall unharmed, Arthur standing, welcoming them in. Men, women and children of all ages in ragged clothes all huddling together despite the width of the hall.

Arthur did his welcoming speech with no blunders. Telling them all about the new laws he was hoping to install in Camelot and their part in making it happen.

"They look scared."

Merlin was surprised to see Lancelot looking down at him. Arthur had dragged a small bench behind his throne for Merlin and Mordred to sit throughout the next few days. Lancelot was meant to be standing with the rest of Arthur's knights, not creeping up on Merlin.

"They should be," he hissed back.

"But we're trying to help them," Lancelot argued.

"So?"

Lancelot fixed him with a wary look, "Arthur hasn't fed you yet has he?"

Merlin felt himself pout as he said, "Apparently I have to behave for my meals now."

There was a small reprieve after the speech. The druids all had their own rooms in the castle where they could wash up. Yet Merlin could tell they were all reluctant to part one another. Even people who had probably never met before from opposing clans were shoulder to shoulder with each other.

Merlin didn't really want to leave them either. He was a carnivore by nature, but Mordred was worried. So worried in fact that his mental walls were down. He was projecting so loud images just came to Merlin without him trying. A druid he recognized from his childhood. Before he even came to Camelot. This one teaching him to swim. Another teaching him about protecting his thoughts.

One memory stood out from them all. An old man standing in the middle of the crowd now. In Mordred's mind he was slightly younger. A harried face motioning Mordred to come quickly as some woman screeched behind him.

The memory was enough for Merlin to pull him out the room. The two of them trying to keep to the edges yet managing to draw everyone's eyes nonetheless.

Merlin hurried them out faster.

Back in his chambers Mordred spent ten minutes trying to right himself. Apologising when Merlin told him he was still projecting.

"It's fine Mordred. You can't help it," he soothed.

"I've withstood a Catha. This shouldn't be happening," he snapped fingering his temples.

Merlin sighed making Mordred sit in front of him taking over for him. "Just close your eyes and concentrate. You've been able to do this since you were a child, in your sleep even. You can do it again," he encouraged.

"Who knows what they saw," Mordred muttered, relaxing into Merlin's touch. "What did you see?"

Merlin deliberated a moment before telling him about the man in the hall along with the other scenes Mordred had shown him.

"Oh," was the only thing Mordred said, the image of the elderly man coming back.

"Who is he?"

Another image came to him. The man was kneeling in front of him, wiping what had to be tears from Mordred's eyes.

"It's alright. You're with us now. We can help."

"He's just a man I met," Mordred said.

Merlin didn't press. That memory told him that whoever he was he was part of a time Mordred didn't want to remember. So he soothed the worry lines on Mordred's forehead and stroked his hair while he sorted his magic out.

It worked for a while as well. Merlin got less and less images in his head. Most of them merely Mordred lamenting to himself about what people might be hearing.

Sometimes Merlin forgot how powerful Mordred was. His magic was buzzing, much like it had been in the castle a few months ago. Only this time it wasn't because he needed to relieve himself.

A knock came at their door. Gwaine poking his head through to tell them that it was almost time for the feast. Merlin hadn't realized how much time had passed. Yet when he looked outside the window, sure enough it was dark.

"We'll be right down," Merlin said.

Mordred hadn't moved from his spot on his chest. He even whined when Merlin tried to lift him off him.

"My head," he said.

Merlin huffed, knowing this wasn't an excuse. "Fine. But one of us has to go otherwise Arthur's going to come looking for us. Or worse, send a guard."

Mordred let him get up after that. The pair of them hating all the guards in Camelot with a passion. While Arthur was pleasant the guards never had a nice word for them. More than once when Merlin was trying to find his way around they would send him in the wrong direction. He had made it his duty not to talk to them any longer, and knew Mordred had done the same when he came back well after dark saying a guard had sent him into the caverns rather than through the courtyard.

So Merlin bundled himself in his warmest and least scratchy clothes, wishing, not for the first time, that he was back in his lake.

He made for the door, stopping when an image came to his mind. Turning back he gave Mordred the quickest kiss he could.

"Let's hope they didn't see that," he said when he finished brushing a curl out of Mordred's face. "Feel better."

"I'll try."

The feast was every bit as awful as Merlin thought it would be. Usually he would be naked at these things. Arthur never asked them to dinner outside of his rooms. Knowing Merlin would complain if Arthur did ask him to wear something he now always made sure his chambers were heated to a boiling point. The hall was warm from the amount of bodies alone. But the tension he could feel all around made him cold to his bones.

Arthur had Merlin seated next to Gwaine. Probably hoping the two of them would behave if paired together. From the looks he was casting them it didn't look like they were succeeding.

"Stop twisting," Gwaine grinned.

Merlin couldn't help it. The smell of cooked meat was revolting, and there was so much of it,

"Get that thing away from me," he batted as Gwaine taunted a torn chicken leg in his face.

Gwaine chuckled, stuffing most of it in his mouth. "I heard Arthur tell Leon to take a pig to your rooms tonight. So stop twisting and enjoy yourself. Everything's going brilliantly after all."

He was right. Everything was going great. The druids had finally calmed when there was no immediate mass killing and were laughing quietly at their tables. The children had no qualms running up to the knights dotted around the room and asking about their lives. Gwaine himself had told three versions of the same story to a bunch of them about his heroic save of Arthur on his quest. Then there were the elders. Seated at the head table with Arthur in deep conversation.

That wasn't to say everyone was happy. The council was as sullen as ever while Merlin spotted guards clenching their weapons or glaring at Merlin like this was all his fault. He supposed in a way it was.

It was around the third course when Merlin noted the head of the man Mordred knew perk up along with a few others. It was a brief jerk that ended in a few blushing and others giggling away to themselves. Merlin didn't know what was going on until he focused on the little scene that had started playing in his head.

It was him. Him through Mordred's eyes anyway. Naked and smirking up at him from his position on Mordred's stomach. A few kisses were littered as Merlin slid down, stopping at his thighs to nip between them.

 _'Mordred?'_ Merlin asked, watching as this little scene stopped and vanished from his mind.

A hesitant _'Yes?_ ' came back.

Merlin eyed the other druids around the room. Some of them shooting him odd looks. _'Keep working on your walls,_ ' he said.

A tense silence followed broken by Mordred's _'You saw that didn't you?'_

 _'Along with a few others,'_ Merlin confirmed

He spied the white haired man get up from Arthur's table. Ignoring Mordred's mortified reminiscence about what he had just let through he watched as the man nodded briskly at him before leaving the hall altogether.


	15. Chapter 15

Mordred was no better when he got back. The druid had finally fell asleep. Unfortunately he was still projecting.

Merlin gently brushed Mordred's curls back as he climbed into bed. Sending calming thoughts of his own to Mordred, he hoped he would be able to prevent anything he didn't want anyone else to see. Then again, Merlin thought, he was quite curious about the white haired man. No. He couldn't do that to Mordred.

After a while the thoughts seemed to work. The firelight that had been Mordred's dream before brightened further until a shimmering lake replaced it. He saw a dream version of himself dart in the next minute. The best thing was he had his tail. His beautiful tail. He nearly wept at the sight of it.

Getting more comfortable he watched his dream self swim around, the gold and blue shimmering so nicely in the water. Mordred's dream self was watching too. Mordred wondered if Mordred had many dreams of just watching Merlin swim. If he did, Merlin had to admit, they were rather nice. Soothing. He ended up dropping off himself from watching his tail.

Arthur woke them in the morning. Barging in without so much as a knock, he pulled back the curtains and let in the blinding sunlight.

"Good morning you two," he chirped. "Best get ready. After yesterday I'm expecting great things!"

Merlin had to bite back a groan. Both at the light and the blatant projecting Mordred was still making. Not that Merlin minded the image of Arthur falling through the floor.

"Go away," Merlin groaned.

Arthur was already leaving, laughing at Merlin's morning attitude.

Huffing Merlin curled back around Mordred. "Think we can skip the morning and spend the day in bed" Merlin asked.

An image of them in their exact position but slightly sweatier, also panting, popped into his mind. It was gone in a blink and replaced with Mordred curled up on Merlin's chest. The real him followed a second later.

They both jerked as they heard "Merlin!" called seconds later. Arthur wasn't going to let them skip this it seemed.

Only half of the druids were there when they finally got to the hall. They were more relaxed, the evening before seemed to have worked in lessoning the boundaries between Camelot and themselves. The children especially had disregarded any pretence of fright and continued to harass the nights into entertaining them again.

Lancelot and Gwaine were eager to oblige. Gwaine brought over three of them to sit on Merlin and Mordred's little bench with him. Arthur even had a couple of them surrounding him. He was pointing at Merlin presently as he told them some sort of story.

When the last of the druids and the rest of Arthur's knights staggered in Arthur called the first day of talks to a start.

The elders must have been prompted the night before on things they should and shouldn't say in front of the council. All of it was peaceful. Not only peaceful it didn't mention Camelot at all. Camelot or any of the foul treatment they had received from knights and others over the years. Smart move, Merlin thought.

About midday Arthur called the talks to an end. He gave the druids leave to treat Camelot like their home. See the sights. Talk to the people. Go to the market or even get a check up from Gaius. Arthur truly wanted them to be as comfortable as possible.

Merlin saw if for what it really was when Gwaine walked them back to their chambers. He passed a few women from the druid community asking where the laundry room were, taking hold of some of the children as they tried to follow Gwaine again. This was a chance for the people of Camelot to see the druids in action. Not just take their word for it, but see that they were actually a peaceful people.

"Was I that annoying" Mordred asked when the door shut.

Merlin laughed, stripping off the shirt and breeches he had been forced into. "Yep."

Mordred frowned. An image of Merlin's backside came to him. He looked back, seeing if it really was like that. Noticing what he had done Mordred frowned even further and joined Merlin on the sheets.

"I hate this," Mordred pouted.

Merlin huffed, getting up to call a knight from the hall to fetch some books from Gaius.

The knight did one better. Not only did he bring the books, he brought Gaius himself. He told them he had referred any patients he had to Merlin's rooms for the day and set to work as soon as he forced the problem out of Mordred.

Three experiments later and he was getting Mordred to replay what happened yesterday.

"... it was like a shooting pain and then my walls came down."

Gaius hummed, looking into Mordred's eyes again.

"From what you describe it could be any number of things," Gaius concluded.

"Such as?" Merlin asked. He was rather curious after Mordred said he felt a shooting pain. It sounded like someone had intruded in his mind.

Gaius turned to him. "Well it could be a delayed reaction from the Catha. Like it or not Mordred you were put under considerable strain. Something like that will have had an effect on you. All that pressure could have built up with the druids arrival here being the last straw. Then again, it could always be the druids themselves that have prompted this. All those people with magic of their own. From what Arthur has told me you've not been around druids since you were a child. All that pressure... Or it could be exhaustion."

"Oh," Merlin said, expecting something a bit more sinister.

Mordred didn't care either way. "Well how do I mend it?"

At this Gaius looked sorrowful. "I'm afraid I don't know. My knowledge on mind related magic is little. Any I did have has been gone for years. My advice would be to seize the opportunity Arthur has presented you with."

"Ask the druids," Merlin finished with a sigh, knowing Mordred wouldn't do anything of the sort. He had always been self sufficient that one.

"Or..." Gaius said. At this the pair of them perked up. "You could get a good nights sleep. Maybe if your mind finds peace it will simply repair itself."

Mordred huffed, "If that were true I'd be fine this morning."

He nevertheless thanked Gaius for his services and lent a hand in returning his books back to his rooms.

There was another feast that night. This one Mordred did attend, although not happily. Arthur had dragged him to his right hand, and turned to him every now and then in conversation.

"He okay?" Gwaine asked.

Merlin arched his eyebrow at him. He really didn't think the knight had been paying attention. His little fan club hadn't diminished throughout the day. In fact it had tripled. He had not only gained another group of children but a few teens, mainly girls. They were hanging onto his every word. Even now they were listening carefully as Gwaine asked after Mordred.

Merlin grinned at them before replying, "Fine." Even if Mordred was the opposite.

He was growing more and more frustrated that he was projecting. Already three druids had called him out on it. Merlin had heard each of them. The last of which wasn't so polite as he told Mordred he should have more control at his age.

 _'Don't listen to them,'_ Merlin said as another voice tried to get Mordred to put his walls up.

 _'It's hard not to when they're saying it in my mind.'_

He saw Mordred massaging his head again at the big table. Deciding he needed to do something he went through everything he could think of to try and wear Mordred out. Swimming was an option. A good one too. He could take him down to the water chambers. So long as they avoided the dragon's cave he didn't see why they couldn't get a good tiring few hours. There was also walking through the castle. But he supposed they would have to contend with the druids. Not to mention the knights and guards.

He pulled Gwaine out of his conversation to see how he would tire Mordred out. What he wasn't expecting was the five minute long laugh Gwaine had.

"What?" Merlin snapped.

Calming, Gwaine wiped his eyes and waved him off with a "Later. Too many kids."

Later didn't come until Merlin had took Mordred down to the waters. The knight caught up with them, begging a word. Mordred tried to hang around, but was quickly brushed off when Gwaine pushed him into the water. Rolling his eyes Mordred got out to take off the rest of his clothes allowing Gwaine to pull Merlin to the side.

"You wanna know how to calm him down?"

"Yes."

The next minute was a awkward at best. At least for Merlin. Gwaine on the other hand found it hilarious and left with a fleeting laugh at Merlin's face.

"What did he want?" Mordred asked as the last of Gwaine's laughs echoed to a stop.

"Just some advice," Merlin said. He didn't really know how to sum up what Gwaine said anyway.

They stayed down there as long as possible. Unfortunately for Merlin that wasn't long. Merlin loved having his tail back, but before that he had been in the water with his legs. The water was freezing, the air even more so. Even with magic it wasn't long before Mordred was shivering. Knowing he wouldn't ask himself Merlin suggested it for him. From the sigh of relief when Mordred sat in front of the fire Merlin knew he had made the right call.

Merlin brought out the chess board as soon as Mordred's shivers had stopped. It was fun for all of three minutes before Merlin noticed Mordred thinking about his strategy. It seemed the brief swim didn't do much to help his predicament.

Which brought Merlin onto what Gwaine had said. He supposed Gwaine had more experience with these things. If he said it worked then Merlin would have to believe him.

Pondering for a few more minutes, and watching a few more strategies cross Mordred's mind Merlin made his decision.

"Mordred?"

He hummed, showing he was listening.

He didn't know how to ask. Or what to do. So he did what he was used to and brushed the chess board out the way and leaned in.

With only slight shock Mordred kissed back. Merlin could feel him smiling and saw Mordred straddling him before he actually did. He saw most things before Mordred did them. Merlin was almost thankful for them since he was acting blind on what to do next.

He saw that Mordred wanted them naked. Something Merlin didn't have a problem with. He was actually eager, and pushed Mordred off him to undress. He saw his chest as Mordred did. Saw how he wanted to touch him.

"You can," Merlin prompted.

Mordred blushed when he realized his thoughts were being projected again stating, "I can't."

"Why not?" Merlin asked, taking Mordred's tunic off as he did.

He didn't protest, but he did sit back when Merlin tried to reach for him again.

"They'll see," He said. Before turning an even more alarming shade of red, "Besides, you don't know what you're..."

Another image came to him of Merlin shouting at him in the morning.

"Actually," Merlin sent his own rather put together image of what he imagined they were going to do. "I do. Gwaine told me while you were taking the rest of your clothes off."

"Oh," Mordred said. There was a hint of disappointment in his tone.

"Is something wrong? Was that not what Gwaine meant?" He thought back over what he had sent Mordred.

"No. No!" Mordred corrected quickly, even winding his arms around Merlin's neck for emphasis. "It's just... it's nothing."

"Well if it's nothing," Merlin prompted and kissed him again.

"They'll-"

"They're going to see anyway," Merlin said. He started on Mordred's neck. "And who cares. If they give you a hard time in the morning I'll eat them."

That got a laugh.

The next thing he knew Mordred was pushing him back and settling with his back to Merlin's chest. His arm came back to play with Merlin's hair as his other one pulled Merlin's hand between his thighs.

"In that case let's see what Gwaine taught you."

Mordred's cock was stiff against his stomach. Merlin took his time to figure out what Gwaine said and what to actually do. Thankfully Mordred helped him out. The anticipation seemed to be getting to him the longer Merlin took. His hand was pulling at Merlin's hair as his magic supplied a helpful image of Merlin's hand moving.

He gave a tentative stroke. Harder when Mordred gasped. From there he followed Mordred's lead. Twisting when Mordred thought it. Bringing his other hand into the mix to try and get Mordred to make more of those interesting sounds.

Mordred didn't last long. A few more gasps and he was dragging Merlin's hand away, slumping boneless on his chest.

"Are you okay?" Merlin asked, not quite knowing what just happened.

The ground grew uncomfortable after a while. After a quick coercion he managed to get Mordred on the bed. No sooner than his head hit the pillow Mordred was out. Merlin followed suit not long after he drew the curtains around their bed.

He was woken by something. Jerking upright he tried to figure out what. It was still dark outside. The curtains were still drawn so Arthur hadn't been bothering them. Checking on Mordred he found he was still asleep. Better, he wasn't projecting. It seemed Gaius had been right. Mordred just needed to find peace and he would be alright.

Back to the matter at hand Merlin tried scenting out whatever it was. There.

As quiet as he could he moved around the bed, choosing the right angle to peek at whoever was sneaking into their room.

It was a guard. The one on their door to boot.

Merlin looked around their room. There was nothing else amiss, yet the guard was still skulking in. A hint of silver glistened from him.

Creeping back into his curtains Merlin clamped a hand around Mordred's mouth as he woke him up. The druid had always been quiet. Preferring to speak in his mind unless it was with Merlin or Gwaine. He woke so now, with only his eyes squinting to show he was alarmed.

A quick conversation and Mordred was sliding off the opposite side of the bed while Merlin pulled back the curtains. The guard started, clearly not expecting Merlin to be up. His dagger was slid behind his back. Merlin rolled his eyes.

"Can I help you?" He inquired.

He noted the guards eyes scanning the sheets Merlin had just left. The recognition that Mordred wasn't there and the brief flit as he tried to pin point where the druid was. So he wasn't here for Merlin.

He cleared his throat, bringing the knight's attention back to him.

After asking again the knight finally stuttered, "I heard a noise. It's my duty to investigate such things."

Merlin pursed his lips, looking about the room like he was looking for something amiss. He could tell from before there was no danger here apart from the guard. "Well there's nothing. You may as well go back to your post."

The guard stood strong, insisting that "I need to-"

"I'd know if there was something here," Merlin growled, baring his teeth for emphasis.

The guard, for the first time that night, looked frightened out of his skin, as he should do. So Merlin hissed for emphasis and sent the guard reeling back a few paces. The dagger came out, slashing in front of him like Merlin was going to lunge right then and there. He actually contemplated doing so, it would be so easy, not to mention he hadn't had human in so long...

Mordred's scent reminded him why he couldn't lunge. If he did so Arthur might get angry with him. Might also chuck him out of Camelot. All because he didn't prove that a guard was trying to kill them. He needed to keep the man alive. So he snapped his teeth at the man until he ran out.

The door slammed and Mordred came out. The druid scrambled for his clothes, pulling on breeches as Merlin locked their chambers.

 _'We should go get Arthur,'_ Merlin said, looking out their window. There was no one below, or across their room. It looked like the man either had another signal to show the deed was done or was acting alone.

 _'He'll be waiting for us to come out,'_ Mordred noted. He had his ear pressed to the door, his twitching fingers telling Merlin the guard was too close to the door.

 _'I didn't say we had to go out.'_ Merlin concentrated on the multitude of magic he could feel in the castle. _'One of them has to be near Arthur's chambers.'_

A horror struck look came over Mordred as soon as he grasped what Merlin was saying. _'You don't think...?'_

Merlin concentrated harder. As far as he could tell the druids magic was remaining strong. _'Not yet.'_

They both agreed they couldn't risk asking the druids after that. They could be in hiding like them after all. Asking them to step out could mean certain death.

 _'What do we do?'_ Mordred asked.

In the end they decided to brace the corridors of Camelot themselves. Mordred dug out his dagger with Merlin making sure he was behind him before opening the door.

The guard was waiting for them. He had his lance primed for attack. It centred on Merlin's chest as soon as he had a clear mark, not that it mattered. With a flick of his wrist the lance was gone and he was using magic to knock the man out.

They didn't encounter anyone else as they made their way to Arthur's rooms. Even the guards on Arthur's doors were gone. The king himself was nowhere to be found.

 _'What's going on?'_ Merlin asked.

As soon as he thought that the room grew even darker. It was like everything around them was fading. He couldn't see anything. He feared that someone had hit him, or covered his eyes. But Mordred was still solid beside him. He too was looking scared, his dagger still clasped tightly in his hand

A loud bang sounded and Merlin was jerking upright in bed. The curtains were the same, the room was light and Arthur was shouting for Gaius.


	16. Chapter 16

His head ached. He wondered belatedly if Arthur had hit him in order to wake him. But then cast that thought aside. There were more important things to be worried about. Namely Mordred. The scene before him looked like some kind of dream.

From fright at being woken Mordred had lunged, the dagger he had clasped so tightly in Arthur's chambers was now buried in the king's chest.

All of them stood still. The shock of Mordred's actions keeping them rooted. It finally took a trickle of red oozing out of Arthur's mouth for the tension to snap.

As soon as Mordred moved it felt like Merlin had been hit by one of Arthur's horses. His vision went dark and head stung so much he was afraid to move.

"Merlin!" He heard. It sounded like it was coming from far off.

"Merlin," This one closer, and when he opened his eyes revealed Mordred looking down at him. "Merlin?"

"I'm fine," He reassured, even if he knew he wasn't.

The pain in his head dulled to an ache as he sat himself back up.

His vision clearing he had to look twice before he was sure about what he was seeing. Their chambers. For a second time. No Arthur or anything else amiss. No dark shadows waiting to leap out at them. No nothing. Just him and Mordred in bed.

He looked Mordred over just in case anything was amiss there. Nothing. Except the silver dagger in his hand.

"What's going on?" Merlin asked.

He was hoping Mordred would just say nothing. But a look Merlin had so scant seen on Mordred came over him. Fright. This was bad.

Especially when he said, "I don't know." Looking around the room himself. Composing himself Mordred hedged the idea that "Maybe we were just dreaming. With my magic the way it is there's a good possibility that our minds merely bled into each other."

Merlin nodded, liking that explanation.

"Some dream," He tried, hoping to make the situation lighter.

It worked to pull the corners of Mordred's mouth a bit. "I know. Makes me wonder whose it was."

Merlin hummed just as another sharp pain befell his head.

It was the same cycle all over again.

His vision went dark and someone called his name. Mordred's call came a second later. Merlin wanted to go back to Mordred, he did. But something told him to ignore him. To listen to the other one instead. So he did.

"Merlin!"

He opened his eyes just to see Gwaine's hand fly across his face again.

Hissing back to pain he said "I'm awake!" Grabbing Gwaine's hand when he looked to strike again.

"Are you sure?" Gwaine asked, a wild look in his eyes. "Because we almost had you before and you fell straight back to sleep."

"I'm awake," Merlin enunciated, pushing the man off him. "What's going on?"

What was going on was the room was in chaos. Arthur, like before was at Mordred's bedside. This time however, Mordred was fast asleep, no dagger in sight, and not responding to Arthur's calls. Gaius was a few metres back, swirling a vial in his hand he was instructing Arthur on various other ways to wake Mordred.

Merlin could see some of the knights hovering at the edges of the room, waiting for a chance to help. But he put that aside to focus his attention back on Gwaine.

"We couldn't wake you," He said. "Arthur tried this morning. Gaius let it slip Mordred wasn't feeling so well and came himself. He didn't think much about it when you wouldn't wake up- you're stubborn. But Mordred..." Here he glanced back at the druid who, indeed wasn't looking all that good.

His hair was in messy curls from sleep and limbs splayed from a restful night. Yet there was something off. A sickly odour emanating from him. That coupled with the fact Merlin could feel Mordred trying to pull him back into his mind told Merlin that last night didn't work. If anything, making Mordred find peace made him worse.

Arthur, noticing Merlin awake, motioned one of his knights to take over.

"What happened here last night?" Arthur asked, an accusing tone in his voice.

"Nothing," Merlin defended. "Gaius told us that Mordred might be able to calm his magic by finding peace. We played chess for a while before I did this thing Gwaine suggested. It seemed to work. After that..."

"What was this thing?" Concern written on his face as he asked.

"Nothing," Gwaine said before Merlin could try and explain. "Just a simple remedy for a relaxing night. I used to take it before bed when I was travelling."

"Take it? But you said it-"

A hand clasped firmly over Merlin's mouth, a pointed look directed from Gwaine telling him to shut up.

"I think we can conclude Merlin had nothing to do with Mordred's situation," Gwaine finished.

Arthur narrowed his eyes at them, snapping out of it when Elyan called him over.

Mordred was sending a heady scent Merlin's way. One which had his teeth pinching and clenching in his gums. Much like Arthur in their dreams Mordred was coughing up blood. It was hard to watch. The druid was still asleep, his body jerking up as it tired to get upright enough to let the poison blood out.

"But he's not ill," Merlin heard himself say. Turning to Gaius he accused, "You said he wasn't ill."

The man looked away, Merlin's words still ringing in the air. "It seems I was wrong," He eventually said.

Merlin was eventually removed from the room and taken to Arthur's when the king saw his teeth. Gwaine joined him a few minutes later.

"What did you do now?" Arthur asked, his face not even surprised.

"Nothing."

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Which means you were meddling." He motioned Gwaine into a seat at his table. "Listen, with this happening and the chance it could spread I'm going to need to stay with Gaius. The sooner I know what's going on the sooner I can put the kingdom's mind at rest. Unfortunately that means someone's going to have to take over council matters." A pointed look was sent Gwaine's way.

"You can't be serious," The man laughed.

Arthur didn't need to say anything. His silence had Gwaine choking back his chuckles and start panicking.

"What am I meant to do? You haven't exactly put out an itinerary."

"You'll figure it out," Arthur waved off, gathering what he needed from his room before leaving.

When the door closed Gwaine started pacing. Merlin remembered the next meeting was meant to be held at lunch. He was meant to be attending with Mordred. The two of them keeping to themselves at the back of the room. Hopefully passing jokes back and forth if he was better. Now Mordred was sicker than ever and the druids were facing death all because Arthur decided to put his faith in Gwaine. Merlin liked the man, but he, and a few others, were the only ones who did. When trying to make the druids likeable to the council it was a bad idea to let someone so ill in their favour lead the talks. Merlin knew this. Gwaine knew this.

The two of them didn't have any ideas by the time lunch came.

Seated at the high table Gwaine hissed ideas back and forth to him. None of them were good, and most of them would have the kingdom in arms within the hour.

Finally the food was gone and Gwaine was left to introduce himself and give his apologies from Arthur. The druids looked confused, even more so than Gwaine and Merlin, about this new change in plans. The elders hissed amongst themselves between lulls. Whatever Arthur had thought about Gwaine being the right choice for this didn't look to be so now.

Sharing an hesitant look at Merlin Gwaine went into his layabout life in Camelot and his exile. Once he had, well, Merlin had to give Arthur something as the druids looked at Gwaine in a new light. It changed to a rather confusing one when Gwaine told them about him. About how he wasn't some random man beside him, but a magical creature. They were sceptic to the point it took one of the elders pointedly muttering at them for them to quiet down again. After that they were curious again. Which was about the time when Gwaine started in on his choice to be a knight.

"... look," he finished, "I know being here is shifty. I know I'm on constant alert for something to happen. But Arthur means well. If he didn't, I wouldn't be standing here. Or Mordred, one of your own, and especially not Merlin."

A slight gasp came over the small group when Gwaine had finished. Taking it as a compliment Gwaine grinned at Merlin before trying to put the next stage of Arthur's plan into action. Merlin thanked any deity listening that they had figured the next logical step out by themselves. Namely getting the druids to do all that they had the first two days they were here, only this time use magic.

When they left Merlin wondered if they would actually use it in the corridors and footpaths of Camelot. Or whether they would try and conserve their heads and keep those who did have magic quiet.

Quite frankly he didn't care. All the way through the talks he could only think of Mordred. The druid was his priority and right now he was away from him. He could be at deaths door for all Merlin knew.

He'll be alright," Gwaine tried.

"He won't," Merlin knew. This wasn't an ordinary illness. He had never seen something like this in his life. True, he didn't know much about human illnesses. But from the ones he had studied, and those Gaius had told him, this was nothing like that.

Gwaine tried to keep heart for a while. He seemed to take it upon himself to try and be the strong one. So they went to the stables. Gwaine keeping guard while Merlin ate a few of them. He took Merlin to the water chambers after that. The two of them didn't stay in there long. Since Gwaine wasn't a merman and Merlin didn't have their tails they were freezing after a few minutes.

By dusk Gwaine was just as sullen as him.

The two of them had taken refuge on a sill that faced the door to Merlin's chambers. The door was closed. Only the knights had come in and out, all of them harried and one of them covered in blood. None of them took the time to tell them what was going on. Not that they needed to. Merlin could hear Mordred at the edge of his mind. Alone and scared he was begging someone to come help him. Among other things.

This morning, Merlin found out through storytelling, that it was Mordred's mind they had been trapped in. Apparently the situation with the knight had been what similarly what happened when Morgana tried to take over Camelot.

"... he came in thinking Mordred would be alone. Didn't count on Arthur and I being there and tried to make an excuse about checking the room. Arthur let him in- why wouldn't he? The man was meant to be a loyal knight of Camelot after all. He ended up trapping us in one part of the room as he went after Mordred. He was saying things like he was doing his duty, I suppose to him he was. Merlin you should have heard some of the names he called the kid. It was horrid. Not that it mattered. Mordred can handle himself after all, he had him off and ran away just as we got free."

The incident with Arthur after the guard had been another figment of Mordred's mind. One he had plucked from Merlin's. He had tried, after discovering that, to wonder when Mordred had picked out the prophecy from his mind. He couldn't pin point it, which was slightly terrifying. It made him wonder what else Mordred had stole from Merlin's mind. Really he hoped nothing. His thoughts weren't pretty. He spent most of his time planning people's demise after all.

Gwaine started in on how they all met when the white haired elder Mordred knew came running up the stairs. Another man followed him. His face pinched and head cast down they came to a stop in front of Merlin and bowed.

Merlin turned to Gwaine, hoping he knew what was going on. The knight shrugged and told the men to get up. "He can eat you quicker like that," he joked.

The men didn't share his humour.

With a heart felt sigh the elder nudged the man forward saying, "Emrys, please accept our apologies. We didn't know it was you in that hall with us."

That name again. The one Mordred called him. The one the druids must have taught him to call Merlin by. Listening to it again after so long Merlin decided he didn't like it. The name sounded more like a title than a name. One he didn't want. Especially when a blonde haired king came with it.

He managed to get over that part as another part of the elders speech registered.

"Apology? What are you apologising for?"

At that the elder nudged the man again. "Tell them what you did," he ordered.

Merlin had a bad feeling. One which Gwaine shared as his hand edged towards his sword.

The man in front of them gulped, pulling in what looked like his last breath before speaking. "We had heard rumours, then that knight told us they were true. That magic really was coming back to Camelot. But the knight also told us about a druid who had taken residence in Camelot. We knew who it was, knew it was _him_. It had to be. You must understand Emrys, we need magic back in Camelot. What we did, we did for you," He appealed, falling to his knees at the end of his apology.

Merlin was still wrapping his head around what the man was trying to say. Gwaine on the other hand understood perfectly and had drawn his sword. It took Merlin grabbing his arm to stop him from doing something stupid.

It didn't stop him from bellowing, "He's one of your own!"

Taking the calm approach Merlin tried, "What did you do?"

The man looked close to sobbing. His words garbled so much the elders had to step in.

"He found a man proficient in mind magic Emrys. They hoped with Mordred gone Camelot could fulfil it's promise on bringing magic back. They didn't know Mordred was working with you."

"What should it matter whether he's working with me?" Merlin seethed. The hand holding Gwaine back was weakening with every word. "He's one of you, it shouldn't matter!"

The elder bowed. "That is true Emrys. But surely you've heard of the prophecies about you? About Camelot? You can understand why some of our people will be afraid."

Of course he did. If it were anyone else he would have been unaffected about this sly assassination. Even admired how clean it is. But this was Mordred. As soon as the elder had finished Merlin's teeth were pressing out again and he was spitting at the two men to undo whatever they had. He threatened murdering them all himself if they didn't, and gave them until morning to find a solution. The two of them took the opportunity as soon as Merlin finished to scamper off. Hopefully to do what he said.

Knowing what happened now Merlin didn't waste time sitting on the sill, and barged into his chambers. Gwaine took Arthur as the man tried to get Merlin out, while he went to Mordred.

The druids mind was shattered. Showing so in the physical realm with convulsions. Red was tainting everywhere. A quick healing spell had Mordred's eyes clean and ears repaired from the damage his magic had made to them. Merlin could do nothing about the nose except to clear the passage briefly.

"You're going to be alright," Merlin promised.

Merlin turned at Arthur's cry. The king was standing shocked before sense returned and he called Lancelot to him. Merlin guessed Gwaine had told him what happened. Proven when he left and made Percival an enforcer should Gwaine try and leave.

"Imprisoned," Gwaine scoffed as he sat beside him.

"He's scared," Merlin said.

"Arthur? He looks more mad."

"Oh, er no. I meant Mordred. He doesn't know what's happening." The druid was trying to call Merlin in again. Harder now he could sense Merlin near.

"Can't you tell him? Reassure him?"

Merlin shook his head. His magic was strong, but Mordred was in his element when it came to the mind. If Merlin even tried to breach him, even for a moment, he would be sucked in again.

It was one of the longest nights Merlin had ever experienced. He didn't think he had been this scared since he had first got his legs. The hours stretched in silence, broken only by Mordred as he tried to break free of this magic. Every so often Merlin had to perform one spell or another. Helped along by Gaius handing him a special something in the early hours of the morning. It was a book of magic, the man told him, something to keep quiet about until the law was actual repealed.

Finally, as the sun broke, a knock came followed by Arthur's "For crying out loud- in!" Shoving a few men along with his knights through the door. A pointed push at one of them and Arthur was coming around the bed to hold Merlin back. "Just in case you do something stupid," He warned nodding at Percival to do the same with Gwaine.

It was a good thing he did too. As soon as the man made to help Mordred all rational thought left Merlin. It was probably because it was the druids that caused Mordred to be in this state. But mainly, Merlin thought, it was because, even if it was help, it looked like he was hurting Mordred.

He could feel the probing magic. See the way it made Mordred seize up. Thankfully it didn't last long. Within half an hour the man was moving away, telling them he had fixed the disease and already could feel Mordred's mind regain some of its strength.

He's lucky he's so powerful," The man parted with, "Anyone else and he would be long dead."

With no sleep Arthur called off talks for the day. He trusted the druids to continue with their orders from yesterday. The elder that had approached them about Mordred promised to make sure this happened. The knights were then ordered to bed and Gwaine to have the next few days leave to make sure Mordred was alright.

Merlin, for his part, didn't care or hear any of this. As soon as the druid had declared Mordred alright, and Arthur had released him, he had fled the room in search of new bedsheets. With everything clean and back to making sense he slipped in for a peaceful nap.

When Merlin woke it was night. Gwaine was flattening him into the mattress. His heavy weight making it hard to breathe, and the snoring in his ear threatening to deafen him. This was only the second time Merlin had woken up like this and he was vowing to never get to a third.

A huff brought him out of his dark thoughts. Mordred was watching him, a small smile on his face that widened when Merlin turned to him.

"You're awake!"

He tried to sit up, forgetting Gwaine was on top of him and ended up being winded on the mattress. Gwaine woke with a grunt, nursing his head after Merlin bumped into him.

"I'm awake," Mordred confirmed, sitting up carefully.

"What do you remember?" Gwaine asked, already making for the door in case Gaius was needed.

"Dreaming," He said, a haunted look on his face. "It felt so real. But I knew as well that it wasn't. It's hard to explain. What exactly was it?"

Which prompted them to tell Mordred all he had missed. He wasn't surprised when it turned out to be a druid who tried to kill him. He really didn't express much until Gwaine had finished.

A small "Oh," and he changed the conversation completely.

Sometimes Merlin really didn't understand what went on in Mordred's mind. Merlin shared a look with Gwaine above his head. They would need to keep an eye on him. For now however, they could just enjoy the fact he was safe again.

Gaius was called despite Mordred saying he was alright. The man checked him over, nodding pointedly at Merlin's book as he said to consult it should something unexpected happen again.

A full bill of health and it being too dark to do anything they settled in for a quiet night. The chess board was dragged out while Mordred was passed around like a toy. One moment he was on Gwaine's side avoiding a heavy arm around his shoulders, and another he was slung over Merlin's lap like he had hunted him.

"I win," he crowed knocking over the rest of Gwaine's pieces.

Gwaine laughed, good naturedly handing Mordred back to him as a reward.

The druid laughed, playfully crawling around until he could rest on Merlin's chest again.

Merlin brushed the curls back from Mordred's head. Some of them stuck together, but Merlin didn't care. He'd just had one of the most terrifying days of his life

"Merlin!"

He snapped out of his musings to see Gwaine nodding towards the chess board.

"Sorry. Tired," He excused.

Gwaine huffed, "It's been a hard day."

The chess set was put away after that match.


	17. Chapter 17

"You're doing it again," Mordred said, no hint of a reprimand in his voice.

"Sorry," Merlin said, noticing the curl in his lips and doing his best to take this hiss out of his words.

It had been happening ever since Arthur brought them down here. The king had insisted they join him for breakfast. Only he left out the part where breakfast was another meeting between the druids and the people of Camelot.

Seated, the protective part of Merlin that had been dragged up wouldn't let Mordred out of his sight. Any man, be they druid or knight, were forced to listen to him hiss, and on one occasion even snap his teeth at them, should they come too close. Merlin wasn't even aware he was doing it most of the time. His instinct to protect was that sharp in this crowded hall that he didn't need to think before it happened.

"Merlin," Mordred chuckled as another man crossed in front of them.

"We should go back to the room," Merlin said. He didn't like this. Mordred had just recovered after all.

"I agree. But it isn't up to us," Mordred countered. "Besides, isn't it more satisfying to watch the faces of those who tried to kill me than be bored in our room? Just look at them. Half are terrified and the other planning a future assassination."

He was right. About some of them at least. It seemed only one party of druids were against Mordred's presence here. The man who had actually planned the past attack was seated amongst them. He was the one of those who looked terrified. Casting glances at Merlin quickly before snapping at the others who did the same. It seemed he had made a lasting impression on the man. Good.

"I don't see what Arthur's motivation for this is," Merlin huffed as Mordred nudged him out of another growl.

"Really?" Mordred asked, actually looking confused.

"Yes. Why would you think I did?"

Mordred shrugged, "You're both quite similar when it comes to grudges."

He said nothing more, leaving Merlin, as usual, wondering what was going on in his head.

When they were finally free of pretending nothing had happened, Merlin dragged Mordred over to Arthur's chambers. The king was expecting them apparently, a small nest was made up by the fire for Merlin with a chair seated near it.

Arthur didn't leave them waiting long. Striding in he motioned for them to hurry with what they wanted from him.

"What are we going to do about the druids?" Merlin asked.

Arthur rolled his eyes, pulling up a chair near them. "Nothing. They're here for a purpose, and I'm not letting this little infraction-"

"Infraction? They tried to kill Mordred!" Merlin accused.

"Little infraction," Arthur continued, shouting over him, "Mess up my plans. The council has finally started to calm around them."

"So what? You're just going to let this go?"

Arthur huffed, rubbing his eyes. Merlin hadn't noticed until he did so how tired Arthur looked. "For now, yes."

Mordred stopped him from arguing further with a sharp "Merlin." Turning to Arthur he said, "You're not going to be able to continue these talks if you keep bringing us along. Your best bet would be to integrate with the others and leave Merlin and I in our chambers."

Arthur calmed himself from shouting, just barely, in order to grit out, "But I need you."

"You really don't," Mordred countered. "They're all scared of Merlin after all, and hate me. You may not know it but they hold you in high esteem. Higher than us anyway."

"But-"

"You heard him Arthur," Merlin crowed, already standing to leave. "Make sure to not bother us in the morning."

He dragged Mordred out after that, running before Arthur tried to pull them back.

With the rest of the day free from any surprise talks or negotiations they went for a walk. For the first time since he had came to Camelot Merlin wandered the stalls I the market place. The food still smelled awful, better than the ones in Arthur's halls because they were raw. But awful because he could smell the things people had added to them. Not to mention some of them were a few days old.

"Fudge!" Mordred disappeared, not for the first time that day, and came back with a small pouch of brown squares. "You're missing out on some great things."

Merlin eyed the brown squares again, "Doubtful."

He found out that holding Mordred's hand stopped him from wandering away. It made wandering the market that much more fun when he didn't have to look for Mordred every two seconds. They spent a while at the jewellery stand. Mordred inquiring about this and that before making the vendor sputter close to tears when he asked Merlin what they were really worth. They gathered quite a crowd at that stall. Many girls giggling and gasping when the vendor couldn't defend himself against the many fake items he had.

After they had finished there Mordred dragged them over to more sweet stalls. Buying as much as his hands could carry on the little gold Arthur had gave him.

Merlin guessed it was a bad idea to let him stay at the sweet stall too long when he heard a few women saying the same to their children. Even more so when one of the children was sick.

Confiscating the sweets he took Mordred to the blacksmiths. The two of them watching the sparks fly and metal cool into daggers and armour for the castle.

As dark fell the two of them found themselves in a tavern. They weren't surprised when arms wound around their shoulders and Gwaine slurred in their ears.

"There you two are!"

"How many of those have you had?" Mordred asked.

"One," Gwaine insisted, "And only because I was worried. I've been looking since noon for you two."

"You mustn't have looked far," Merlin noted, since Gwaine definitely hadn't had just the one.

The man didn't take Merlin's jest to heart. Bringing them over to a table where the rest of the knights were seated he thrust a pint of mead onto both of them.

"Arthur's pissed," Elyan gloated, eyeing the pair of them up.

Merlin thrust his pint towards the knight. One sip and he was sure he would be throwing up tonight.

"What else is new?"

Elyan just smirked more, happy that Arthur was starting to fall out of favour with Merlin again.

"I love you two," Gwaine slurred, bringing them into another hug. Elyan rolled his eyes, turning away from the three of them to talk to Percival.

"We love you too Gwaine," Mordred said, smirking at Merlin.

"Thought you were gonna die," He cooed, trying to suffocate Mordred in a hug. "Thought that too much this winter."

"I'm not a child," Mordred said, even if Merlin could see the delighted smile on his face.

"Too much. Not letting you out of my sight," Gwaine went on, hugging Mordred tighter.

With some effort Mordred managed to extract himself from Gwaine's grasp. The loss of Mordred left Gwaine a bit dazed, his glazed eyes seeking out Mordred again, but latching onto Merlin before they could do so. He found himself the next one almost being suffocated as Gwaine lamented again.

"- with your sparkly tail. Mordred, we need to get him back to the water," Gwaine panicked, picking Merlin up as he stood.

"No!" Merlin protested.

Mordred was no help. Laughing alongside Gwaine as the man dragged Merlin up to the castle. It was when they were walking towards the water channels that Mordred finally spoke up.

"Gwaine, you're going the wrong way."

"I know where I'm going," Gwaine protested. He stopped anyway, looking lost as he walked a few steps before backtracking.

Sensing this questioning mindset Mordred motioned Gwaine along. "This way. Quick, before he dries out."

 _'You had best be leading me away from the water,'_ Merlin warned, not ever thinking he would be saying such a thing.

Merlin saw the druid bite back a smile, _'Why? I thought you liked having your tail?'_

 _'You know fine well I'm not leaving you alone,'_ Merlin snapped back.

He heard Mordred humming considerately in his head. _'Then you best persuade me to herd you back to our chambers.'_

Merlin scoffed, not thinking Mordred was serious about leading Gwaine to the water until they took a sharp turn into a familiar corridor. Thankfully, Gwaine was too drunk to realize their little meeting room was only a few doors down, and continued to follow Mordred like a duckling.

The proximity of the water had Merlin thinking quick. _'I'll buy you more sweets,'_ he bargained.

To that the druid dug into his cloak and brought out one of the many pouches he had bought that day. _'I think I'm set for a while.'_

The sweets while not working to turn them around had done its job of stopping Gwaine in his path. The man tottered dangerously, Merlin almost falling from his shoulder before he regained his footing.

 _'I'll persuade Arthur to let you join the knight's practice. For real, not just as a squire.'_

That garnered some interest. No doubt Mordred had thought Merlin forgot about his little fascination with the knights. Even if he had no desire to be one, that didn't meant Mordred didn't want to sample some of the life they led. Particularly the training. Mordred always did have a want to better himself.

Yet _'No,'_ came into his mind. _'Try harder.'_

 _'I don't know what you want,'_ Merlin protested, out of ideas.

 _'Then you'll never win a negotiation,'_ Mordred said, this time letting his amusement show.

The sudden smirk had gained Gwaine's attention. The man shifting Merlin as he held an accusing finger out to Mordred.

"What are you smirking at. Are you two conspiring again? Don't think I can't tell when you do."

Mordred just nodded to Merlin over his shoulder, "You're about to drop him."

Sure enough he would have. As it was, before Mordred had pointed it out Merlin had been prepared to jump down from Gwaine's shoulder and make a run for it. Now, he huffed as Gwaine shouldered him up more securely. His chance of escape gone.

Mordred sent him a smile beckoning, "This way," edging further towards their meeting place.

 _'Come on,'_ Merlin begged.

 _'Give me your word,'_ Mordred bargained.

 _'Fine.'_ He trusted Mordred not to make his demand anything too trying.

Mordred stopped walking, exaggeratedly slapping his hand to his head, "Oh dear. Looks like I've went the wrong way too. Come along Gwaine. We're losing time."

Thankfully the man didn't question why they were in Mordred's chambers when they got there. He just set Merlin down at Mordred's command and collapsed back into a chair. He even motioned to an imaginary barkeep for more mead.

The two of them made sure Gwaine was comfortable before retiring themselves.

 _'Your demand?'_ Merlin asked when they were both in bed.

 _'Can wait until tomorrow. You did get us a lie in after all,'_ Mordred reminded.

They did get a lie in. Arthur left them alone, letting them wake and torment Gwaine themselves. He even let them get their breakfast themselves.

"He's in a mood," Gwaine sang, unusually chipper considering he had a hangover.

"He's always in a mood," Merlin said.

Gwaine laughed, "Maybe with you. I, on the other, hand have enjoyed many a fine hour with Arthur. Never, however, have I managed to piss him off so much he banned breakfast in the morning."

"He hasn't banned breakfast," Mordred said, "He's just not ordered it up to us."

Gwaine hummed, a slight laugh in his tone. "We'll see."

The cook told them there was nothing left for them when they got there. If they wanted something to eat they would have to wait another two hours for lunch and join the king in the hall. Otherwise they were to clear off. She even waved a loaf of bread threateningly at them when they lingered.

"Prat," Merlin said, not knowing whether he was cursing the king or cook. Maybe both knowing the mood he was in. "Looks like you'll be having those sweets for breakfast."

They pigged out on them back in their chambers, lamenting about the other things Arthur had done in the short day they had lost his favour. It turned out that Arthur had ordered the guards to bar them access outside. He had also ordered the knights to take every piece of clothing Merlin and Mordred owned when they were looking for food and replace them with ones of even more luxurious quality. Mordred had vowed to just wear the same thing again and again. The sight of the new clothes filling him with as much horror it did Merlin. There were just too many laces!

Arthur had outsmarted that idea as well. Around noon when they hadn't went down to the hall for lunch a horde of servants knocked at the door. Without waiting for affirmation they filled a tub and stripped Mordred for a bath. He was scrubbed raw, with Gwaine next on their list- something that surprised the man. As soon as the servants had left Merlin realized their mistake. Mordred's clothes were gone.

Wrapping himself in a cloak Mordred went about his day as naked as Merlin. Gwaine on the other hand.

"You're going to get in trouble," Mordred warned, half hearted at best.

Gwaine just scoffed, fixing his hair up. "Don't see how. We're not in my chambers after all. I don't know what else he was expecting."

"You're still going to get in trouble," Merlin said.

"I wish I could see Arthur's face," Mordred muttered.

"Go down to the hall then," Gwaine said, "He did invite you."

He left after that, naked as the day he was born.

They waited all of twenty seconds before gathering three capes each and huddling under them. They raced in front of Gwaine, the man laughing as they went by. Remembering the way into the balcony above the hall they made sure they weren't followed and took their seats.

Below, the druids were laughing merrily at a joke Arthur had told. The king himself was grinning from ear to ear while his knights watched on with fond faces.

All that changed when a commotion came from outside. There came sounds of scuffing, stopping only when the doors flew open and Gwaine barged in.

"Princess," he greeted, arms outstretched.

' _Goddess he's shameless,'_ Mordred said, admiration in his tone.

Merlin hissed, trying not to laugh. Mordred was having the same problem as Gwaine sat himself right next to Arthur. The look on the king's face was priceless. A mixture of shock and resignation. Like he had been expecting Gwaine to do such a thing, but hoping the man's good sense would win out. He should have known better.

To make matters worse Gwaine kicked his feet up onto the table, his bare feet thrust into Arthur's face.

 _'It's a wonder Arthur hasn't had him killed yet,'_ Merlin noted.

 _'Probably scared what you would do with him if he did.'_

More snickers escaped until Merlin was sure they wouldn't be able to stay up there without being found. Just before they left Merlin caught a last look at Arthur's face. The man was hiding behind his hands as Gwaine flirted shamelessly with the druids.

A last, "Mordred's is about this size," followed them out. The druid himself shoving Merlin down the steps as he heard Gwaine's comment, a blush high on his cheeks.

They ran back to the room, back to the fire and warmth that had grown in their absence. With scarcely a chance to get his breath back Merlin found himself on his back on their bed.

"Since Gwaine has gone I think it's time for you to keep up your end of the bargain," Mordred proposed.

"Bargain?"

At Mordred's raised eyebrow last night came back to him. An 'ah' of realization left him as Mordred straddled his thighs.

"I want a repeat of that peaceful remedy Gwaine gave you." The roll of Mordred's hips had which remedy he meant.

"Really?"

Red painted Mordred's cheeks again, "I liked it."

"Humans are so odd," Merlin said, sitting up to place him properly in his lap regardless.

His back against the headboard, Mordred insisted on facing him this time. A quick kiss and Mordred watched expectantly as Merlin remembered how to touch him. It was harder without Mordred giving him instruction. The first touch garnered him a short gasp. After that however he was silent. Merlin didn't know whether he was doing it right. Twisting in the right place, going too slow or too fast.

Eventually he needed a break. Taking his hand back he grasped Mordred's jaw and kissed him as best he could. This he knew. This he was good at. This had Mordred panting against him in no time.

A moan and a thrust of Mordred's hips had Merlin stilling, pulling back from the embrace Mordred had wound him in to.

"What is that?" Merlin gasped.

"What?" Mordred asked, still dazed.

Merlin dragged his hands down to Mordred's hips, making the druid buck again. It sent another delicious thrill through him so he did it again.

"That."

He felt Mordred grin against him, taking the motions into his own hands and rubbing them together. "Oh, that. I'll tell you later."

Enraptured with the feeling Merlin grasped them both, finally seeing why Mordred liked it. He tried to remember what he had done to the druid. Tried to do it to both of them, but his mind had seemed to switch off. He could barely think, almost going brain dead when Mordred took over.

A sort of build came upon him, rising up until he was spilling over both their hands with Mordred not long after.

"Even if Arthur's plotting to get us back on negotiations as we speak I'm thankful we have the rest of the day off," Mordred murmured later.

Merlin was still wrapping his head around what had just happened. It seemed having legs wasn't all bad. If Mordred was willing to let him do that every day he didn't see why life on land should be so bad.

Later, Mordred said to him. "Did you mean it?"

For a moment Merlin thought Mordred had been reading his thoughts.

"What?"

"Last night," Mordred clarified. "When you said you would get Arthur to let me train with him."

"I guess," Merlin pondered. "But I think I might have said anything. Why? What do you want?"

Mordred shrugged next to him. "I just thought, if the offer was still there, that it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to learn how to fight." He tacked on at the end, "For when we go back to the lake I mean."

Merlin hummed, wondering if he should tell Mordred that it was likely he wouldn't ever be going back to the lake. Arthur was making sure they were cooperating with him. The fact he had got them to stay this long in Camelot was impressive. Knowing the king as well as Merlin did now, Arthur probably had things in motion already to make Mordred a permanent fixture in court. Merlin more so since Arthur had revealed his history with the dragon. If he even made a move back down to the lake he was sure the dragon would be calling Arthur down to conspire with him.

But he stayed silent about that. He didn't want another repeat of Mordred running off. He didn't think his nerves could handle any more surprises right now.

"I guess," He tried. It would take some bargaining on his part. "We're going to have to get in Arthur's good books."

Mordred groaned beside him, "Fine. But tomorrow."

Merlin agreed wholeheartedly. Especially when Mordred dragged his hand down Merlin's chest. Insinuation clear, Merlin made sure their door was locked.


	18. Chapter 18

Arthur did indeed want them on their best behaviour if Mordred wanted to play with the knights. He made them sit through the rest of the talks. Worse, he separated them.

One of the druids must have said something to him about Merlin. Seated next to the elders he was subjected to listening to their everyday routines. Something he found dreadfully boring. It looked like Mordred wasn't having the same problem. Laughing so hard he almost spat out his drink he waved off another joke Gwaine was whispering in his ear.

"It's nice to see him alive."

Merlin turned to see the white haired elder leaning towards him.

"I bet," Merlin said, a hiss in his tone. Even if it was the druid who had smoked out the guilty party, he didn't trust any of them anymore.

The man didn't take it to heart. Nodding over to Mordred again he said, "I remember when I first found him. Sweet boy for such a large destiny. As you were too no doubt."

Merlin couldn't help the smirk at the flattery, "If by sweet you mean plotting my first kill, then yes."

The man shook his head, "I still can't believe you're Emrys."

"Neither can I," Merlin confessed.

He managed to get past his anger at the druids. At least try and make some effort, for Mordred. He chatted to the white haired man at least. From him he learned some rather interesting history.

The white haired man told him about Mordred. Apparently he had lived in Camelot once upon a time. He had a mother, father- even an older brother. The four of them had a herb stall in the upper market, and a house not far off. For peasants, the elder said, they were quite accomplished. It was when he was buying herbs off them himself when he first heard Mordred. The boy had been playing with his older brother and scraped his knee. The man had told Mordred's parents to go tend to him,. They had just gazed at him suspiciously, so he had made a run for it.

Later the man would come to learn that Mordred couldn't speak. He preferred to use magic to communicate. Unfortunately his parents and brother didn't have this ability and thought him dumb. When the druid had said to go help Mordred they didn't know how he knew it was their son in trouble.

The druid wouldn't go into much more detail about what happened between Mordred and his parents. Only that by the time the druid saw him again Mordred was screaming for help. He must have done something unnatural, Merlin thought, since the druid said the guards had been called. Mordred's father was trying to keep him in the house. It took magic to pry the boy away from his family. Merlin remembered a memory Mordred had accidentally showed him, of a woman screaming as he ran towards the elder.

He didn't ask for more when the druid finished his story. He shouldn't have even allowed himself to hear that story. So he let the man go back to talking about everyday politics with the other druids and focused on not emptying his stomach from the cooked meat.

When Arthur had finished with his little banquet he made Mordred and Merlin sit through the knight's training. The king had taken it upon himself to invite the druids to try their luck at becoming a knight. Not many of them signed up. Druids were, mostly, a peaceful people after all. But there were one or two of them, and others that enjoyed watching beyond that.

Naturally Arthur wasn't going to let Mordred join the training match. He had the upper hand after all, and wasn't about to give it up any time soon.

So Mordred was set to the side with Merlin. Handing off pieces of metal when requested, and explaining the different manoeuvres to Merlin when he wasn't. The merman had to admit, watching them fight, that it was somewhat entertaining. Especially when one of them got nicked. He could smell the blood from where he sat. It sent a delicious thrill through him. He hadn't had man for such a long time.

Finally, when the knights were sent off the field Arthur called Mordred over.

"You want to learn, don't you?" He asked, twirling his sword with practised ease.

Mordred nodded eagerly. Already he was getting in to a battle stance, knocked easily to his back in the next second by Arthur.

"First, always be on your guard," Arthur instructed, helping Mordred up.

He pushed Mordred back, barely giving him time to regain his footing before advancing again. To be fair on Mordred he did quite well. Growing up by the lakeside, with Gwaine teaching him to survive, he knew a thing or two about fighting. Still, he was no match for Arthur.

By the time the king had knocked Mordred down for a fourth time Merlin was in the middle of them begging Arthur to "Lay off a little. He's just recovered."

"Which is the right time to learn," Arthur said. "He's at his most vulnerable. If he can fight now he'll be unstoppable at his best." A coy eyebrow was sent his way, "Maybe you should join too."

Merlin scoffed, "Really? You're inviting a man eating creature to become stronger on land? My you have a death wish Pendragon."

Arthur laughed in his face, "Even in the water I could take you Merlin."

"Why don't we try it then?" He challenged.

"Well alright then," Arthur agreed.

Mordred got in the middle of them, a soothing hand on both their chests, "How on earth are you two part of the same prophecy?" He muttered, shoving them slightly when they were still too close together. He turned to Merlin, "You said I could have this."

"You can," Merlin agreed, wondering if he had just imagined the last twenty minutes of watching Mordred be beaten up.

"I can't when you're asking to eat him every two minutes. Just go back to our chambers if you're so uncomfortable," He tried.

"You're sending me away?" Merlin gathered, a string of hurt following his own realization.

Mordred rolled his eyes, "If you're going to keep challenging Arthur then yes. We know you could kill him Merlin, you don't need to remind us. Not to mention, it's not helping the guards relax around you. Maybe if they did we could do more _fun_ things around here."

Merlin recognized the hint when he heard it. That morning, after Merlin had appealed to him the night before, had a guard bursting in to their room as morning broke. He didn't care that he was interrupting a rather pleasant activity and coughed until they gave him his full attention. Merlin didn't miss the look of distaste that followed Mordred as he left. It made him wonder whether it was from jealousy or something else. After all, how many people could say they had bedded a merman?

Back to their present situation Merlin latched on to the out Mordred gave him. He wasn't happy about leaving the two of them to their training. But at least Merlin knew Arthur wasn't planning on killing Mordred. Nor hurting him, not really, the man was as much concerned about what happened the other day as Merlin had been.

For the rest of the week Arthur played then like this. He allowed Mordred to attend the knight's training, in return he forced them to attend peace talks and play nice. Merlin complied with this. He kept his head down. he made himself nothing more than a shadow at Arthur's back as the king gathered his council and started the new laws. He did all this because he wanted Mordred to keep at his training. Firstly because he was enjoying himself. Not to mention he was good at it. Every day Arthur kept inviting him out he would return with stories of praise. Well deserved praise as well. Gwaine had told Merlin Mordred was no weakling. More than once Arthur had to readjust his position on the field to avoid being beaten. This wasn't really common among the newer knights. He told Merlin that Mordred had a cunning mind, one that was able to cut through Arthur's regular tactics. Soon enough, he said, Arthur was going to have to up his game.

So Merlin kept his head down for that. There was also the fact that Mordred had started to persuade him on mornings and evenings with other techniques, far more effective than Arthur's constant yelling.

"And you'll be good?" Mordred asked, a smirk curling at the corner of his mouth. Like he wasn't trailing a hand up Merlin's thigh. Like he wasn't half naked and looming over him.

"Fine," Merlin huffed. It wasn't the first time he had fell for this trick, not that he was bothered. For all he cared Mordred could use this technique all the time.

"You won't even hiss at Arthur?" Mordred taunted. He pulled his hand away just before he touched Merlin. Grasping at his tunic instead, he pulled it off with one swift movement.

"Yes."

Yet he still didn't return to his duties. Or even his teasing.

The smirk became a full grown smile as Merlin ended up reaching for him instead. Pinning Mordred down, he decided to try again at taking charge. He hadn't ever since Mordred had initiated their activities days ago. Somehow being out of his depth at this made him hesitant to try again.

Mordred hadn't really minded. Really, he was ecstatic. 'Wanted you for so long,' were his exact words, as Merlin recalled.

Now however... Taunting just seemed to stir something in him. Starting with what he did best he made sure Mordred was a mess under him as he kissed him. Leaving it short, he moved on to more interesting parts of Mordred.

Taking him in hand Merlin noticed something rather helpful. That being the magic that surged through Mordred. He could feel it. Thrumming beneath the surface and pulsing particularly strong if Merlin did something Mordred really enjoyed.

A short laugh left him. Glad to, finally, know what he was doing again he shifted Mordred more securely underneath him. He recalled some of what Mordred did that felt nice. Teasing his hips or pinning him in place when he tried to buck up. He laughed again when Mordred whined in frustration, planting a quick kiss on his stomach.

"Really?" Merlin asked. More to himself than to Mordred- who he was sure couldn't pay attention to much right now. As soon as he had kissed Mordred again a strong pulse had thrummed under his mouth.

Excitement didn't come back when Merlin tried further up.

Humming in consideration Merlin tried another part. Kissing along his hip seemed to garner a good response. The pulse grew strong as Merlin neared his cock. It was then Merlin let his mind run.

Sitting up, he managed to finish Mordred off quickly. Done, and Merlin barely spared a thought of letting Mordred catch his breath before he was rushing him out the door and down to his training.

"Enjoy," He called, running back off before one of the knights could trap him. Or worse, give in to a guard's taunting.

He had given Mordred his word after all.

Gaius was busy with a patient when he barged in. After a few stinted minutes of arguing, and a pointed pained moan from his patient, the old man let him stay. That didn't mean he was leaving Merlin to do as he wished. Gaius' books were his children. Merlin wasn't allowed to so much as breathe in one of their direction without express permission from the man. So he wasn't that surprised when he felt the man looking over his shoulder again when his patient left.

"Something specific you're looking for?" Gaius asked, tidying up pointedly around him.

"The human body," Merlin said, peering through another book.

He jumped when a book larger than his head slammed down in front of him.

"You'll want to look in here then. Which part of the human body was it?"

"The..." Merlin gestured. He didn't really know the name of it. Gwaine had used euphemisms and jokes, even when he was telling Merlin his 'peaceful' instructions.

Thankfully Gaius knew what he was going on about and turned to the correct pages. The next few hours were quite informative, for all the wrong reasons. He didn't learn what he wanted, and whenever he broached the subject the old man would bluster and ask where Merlin got such ideas from.

On the bright side, Merlin thought as he went in search of Gwaine, was that he finally knew how his mother and father created him. Come to think of it, as he thought on, he remembered a few people on the shore acting out some of the things Gaius had described in his brief 'scientific' explanation.

He had turned another corner, lost in his thoughts and ended up bumping in to someone. It was the elderly druid. The man rubbed his chest where Merlin had bumped in to him.

"Emrys," The man greeted. "I was hoping to run into you."

"Oh?"

He really needed to find Gwaine.

"We're leaving tomorrow, and since I have my doubts about this new venture of Arthur's I doubt we'll see each other again. May we?" He asked, motioning to an empty chamber.

"Sure," Merlin agreed. If he got this over with quickly he could find Gwaine before he went to the tavern.

Seated, the man didn't waste any time.

"I was hoping to divulge the prophecy about Mordred to you," He started.

"You mean that he's going to kill Arthur," Merlin concluded.

The man looked slightly shocked at him. "You know?"

Merlin nodded, "So does Arthur. We've come to an agreement that it's more likely Arthur and I are going to kill each other than Mordred. Wait," something dawned on him, "If you know about the prophecy then why are you trying to keep Mordred alive? Don't you want this Camelot Arthur's supposed to build?"

The man looked scandalised, like even posing this question was unthinkable.

"Of course. It's my hope that I live to see that day." He gathered himself quickly, a calm façade overtaking him as he went to Merlin's other question. "Mordred on the other hand... I had considered it. It would have been easy to leave him for the guards. Or stage an accident. But..."

"You fell for him?" Merlin finished, knowing how alluring those blue eyes were.

The man nodded. "It was wrong. So I hoped instead to sway the boy from that path. It is not Mordred that will be Arthur's undoing Emrys. He will swing the sword but it will be the king himself that forces his hand."

"I gathered that," Merlin agreed. He stopped himself from fidgeting, asking "Now is that everything?"

"Well, yes, I suppose-"

"Great!"

He bolted out and in to the courtyard. Asking a guard, who was as always unhelpful, and then a passing servant he gathered Gwaine's whereabouts. The man was still in the citadel. Merlin found him playing in the armoury, trying to stand on Percival's shoulders to shoot a crossbow from a specific height.

"Get down," Merlin ordered, not in the mood for his antics right now.

Gwaine did, a coy brow raising as he did so. "What's got your tail in a knot?"

"That remedy- the," He made hand gestures to try and help.

He knew it had worked as Gwaine tossed his head back laughing. Percival excused himself almost immediately.

"What about it?" Gwaine prompted.

When he had finished milking Gwaine for every piece of information he could get he set off back to his chambers.

Mordred was already there Someone had ordered up a bath for him, the druid scrubbing the last of his training from his skin.

"Arthur wants us at the leaving feast. He said something about an announcement. Also that if you threaten one of his knights he wasn't going to send those two pigs he's been saving for you up," Mordred said.

A damper on his plans Merlin just said, "Fine," and went in search of his least scratchy clothes. He knew, even if Mordred did want to be late, that he couldn't do anything. Arthur wasn't likely to let them run late, and, sure enough, he sent a guard to herd them down when it was time.

The hall was packed with well integrated druids and council member's alike. Wine was poured graciously, and spirits high, as everyone said the beginnings of their farewell's.

"Are you sure you don't want some wine?" Arthur taunted, almost as bad as Gwaine at these things.

"No, thank you," He grit out, remembering his promise to Mordred when the king taunted him further.

He knew it was purposeful that Arthur had him seated next to him. The only thing was he didn't know was what that purpose was. Arthur hadn't let on to anything all night. No hint or jibe that he would usually let slip just to annoy Merlin. It was suspicious. It made him more worried about tonight than he initially had been.

Finally, the food was finished and the wine, once more, passed out. A hush fell over the hall, all heads turning to Arthur who usually took over this part of their evening. The King didn't disappoint.

Standing with his head raised high and cup in hand he did the customary welcomes and why they were all gathered together.

"... We lose some friends tomorrow. Friends, I hope, who will visit us again in the near future. Or sooner. Myself, and my council, have been hard at work while our visitors have been here, and managed to come to an arrangement. Those of whom that wish to stay from the druidic community will be welcome to. Magic or not. No harm will come to you in this city. You will be a citizen, like the rest of Camelot, subject to her laws and safety as is your right..."

The technicalities went on for a while. Arthur trying to make it clear that just because some wish to stay they won't be above the law. No doubt this was because of their little assassination attempt on Mordred. The druid who was in the next part of Arthur's speech.

"... our new court sorcerer Mordred. The position will ensure everyone from the magical community is free to practice. But from past experience we know that some restraints will need to be put in place..."

Merlin caught Mordred's eye. The druid knew nothing about this. He looked as if he was either going to faint or lunge at Arthur. Both of which weren't the best reactions Mordred could have at this farewell feast.

Turning to Gwaine, Merlin nodded towards Mordred to make sure none of that happened. The knight did his best, a hushed whisper and a hand on his shoulder, yet Mordred still looked unstable as Arthur finished that little part of his speech.

The speech died off with some mention of the next time the council would be meeting, along with a toast to the future. All voices were raised as they saluted Camelot.

Merlin thought that only added to Arthur's ego when he sat down again. The king had the biggest grin Merlin had ever seen on his face.

"That went well," Arthur praised.

"For who?" Merlin asked. "If you mean yourself, I think you may have just signed your own death warrant."

At Arthur's confused look Merlin nodded over to Mordred. A little more composed the druid was glowering down in to his cup.

"I've just given him a prestigious position. Believe me Merlin he'll be thanking me tomorrow," Arthur crowed, not wanting to hear any criticism that night.

"Doubtful," Merlin sighed.

"I would have thought you would be in the same mind-set. We're finally starting on our big quest to unite the seven kingdoms," Arthur gushed.

"I couldn't care less," Merlin said. "In case you forgot, I spend most of my time worrying about how many notes I've missed on my lyre."

"So you're not just a little bit happy that I've managed this feat?" There was a teasing note in Arthur's tone again.

"Nope."

"So you're not just a little bit happy that with this new position Mordred no longer has to freeze by your lake every year?"

"Shut up," Merlin snapped.

Arthur chuckled. "I have a job for you too Merlin," He cooed. "Don't think I've forgotten you."

"This can't be good."

"Don't look so put out. It's a good job. See, I'm going to have you train to be a knight. This way I can keep an eye on both you and Mordred. Make sure both of my dooms are in check."

Merlin didn't think anything was worse than hearing those words come from Arthur's mouth.

A knight!

"You're going to be Mordred's very own guard. Watch him day and night."

"But... the lake," He found himself saying though his shock.

"You're really going to leave Mordred on his own?"

Merlin almost scoffed, but stopped himself. What if Mordred did want this? It wasn't that far fetched. It was a good life Arthur was offering. Security. Warmth. Riches. He would be an advisor to a king. A good human life. Something Mordred most definitely was.

"Shut up," Merlin heard himself say again.

Arthur didn't make a comeback. The king seemed satisfied with his work for the night and let Merlin stew in his own thoughts the rest of the evening.

For the first time since arriving in Camelot Merlin half hoped he wouldn't. He didn't like pondering on these ideas. It meant he would eventually have to come to a decision. Sure, he had been deliberating for some time whether or not to keep his legs. But he loved his mother. What's more he loved his life back at the lake. The ease of doing nothing all day. If he stayed he would be forced to attend... knight's training. He would have to eat on Arthur's terms. No human meat.

"Merlin?" Gwaine.

A rough hand ruffled his hair. The knight in question motioned over to where Mordred was retreating, holding out a hand himself to help Merlin up.

"I'm going to the tavern with a few of the druids." He said. Merlin knew which ones. With little ale in the woods some of the men were overindulging in what Camelot had to offer. Gwaine had made their acquaintance when they let him join one night.

"And you want me in bed so I don't wander off," Merlin concluded, happy to take this out.

"Exactly," Gwaine said, hurrying Merlin along. "Princess," He nodded, remembering his knightly duties.

That'll be what I have to do, Merlin thought as they left the hall. He'd have to call Arthur 'sire' or 'm'lord.'

He barely noticed when he got to his chambers. Gwaine made sure both he and Mordred were dressed for bed. A goodnight was called as soon as he tucked them in, like they were his children or something.

When the door closed Merlin didn't know what to say. Mordred was just a lost as he was in this new role Arthur had given them.

"He's not going to let us leave, is he?"

Merlin hummed, "We kind of knew that when we came back here."


	19. Chapter 19

The trees thinned as the lake came into sight.

Mordred halted his horse just shy of the clearing. His armour weighed heavy on him, and cloak even more so, but Arthur wouldn't let him out without making sure he had some sort of protection. Meaning, the hooves he heard stopping a few feet back were his guards, and not some hopeful bandit. He supposed he should go and tell them he knew they were there. It was probably Gwaine or Elyan. To do so however would give up whatever semblance of privacy they were allowing him. He had wanted to come here alone

He tied his horse up and grabbed the royal pin from his shoulder, shoving it in his bag. Drawing his sword, he took a deep breath and crept onto the lake shore.

He knew they had already scented him, they always did. Usually they would pop their heads up to say hello. He had made more than one friend in the lake since living there. But today it didn't show. The lake looked as calm and tranquil as it always did, as it did in his dreams. The water shimmering a deep blue, with rolls of sunlight glinting off the top. There was a slight breeze today, the wind blowing his cape slightly as he walked to his old home.

Other than that it was humid, almost suffocating, especially when the wind stopped. The heat warmed everything. Soon his cape became more of a dead weight than a small haven. He soon stripped out of it, hanging it on his sword he cleaved into the dirt. The grass boiled as he sat, melting through his breeches until it was too uncomfortable to sit in one place. He tried not to let himself squirm so much, it was one of the first lessons Merlin had taught him. Show no weakness, even nerves they could sense. It was how they knew how to take a person down. He could take a little discomfort.

A daisy bloomed in a small patch to his right. With deft fingers he started a chain as he watched the lake. By the time he had strung seven he saw the first signs of life. It was only for a second, maybe less, but it was enough to fill Mordred's heart with hope. He kept himself still as the sharp light disappeared from sight. It came again a few minutes later. A blinding spot in his eyesight, something that would only happen should the sun glint off something shiny. Like a gem. Or a tail.

Eventually Mordred saw a patch of black. A passing fish others would assume. But Mordred had lived by the lake most of his life now, he knew a fish when he saw it, and that black shape in his dreams.

 _'Are you angry with me?'_ he asked it.

The spot disappeared. Mordred went back to his chain.

He made himself not react when an arm grabbed up the side of the bank, even as his heart near stopped from fright. Another followed, yet no head. Instead, the new hand released something before retreating back in the water.

It was a mirror. The outside was a tangle of different colours; silver, gold, rose, all mixed in twining ropes and pretty flowers as they housed a smooth polished stone. It was hard to see in. The stone was shiny, but the reflection was blurred and distorted at the edges.

The blur left as the image cleared, until Mordred was looking at Camelot's great hall. Everyone was there. The knights, the Queen and Arthur among them. He blended in like any other knight, weather hardened look on his face, yet he still smiled as someone stood and gave a muted report. Mordred found himself near the door. He looked older, and instead of the pin he wore now he looked like anyone else too. Despite all this unusualness, the most surprising thing in the whole image was Merlin. He was next to Mordred, picking his teeth with Gwaine's dagger. He was sat, equal and clothed, among Camelot's finest, with not a single repulsive face looking on him.

The image lasted about a minute overall before fading back into the blurred image of Mordred's plain face.

 _'That doesn't answer my question,'_ Mordred pointed out. He set the mirror carefully back in the grass.

It was snatched almost as soon as Mordred released it. He tried to grab the hand that reached, but, as always, Merlin was faster, and sank back in his lake.

 _'Merlin...'_

He crawled over to the edge, peering into the water. Merlin had long gone when he did, leaving Mordred a sorry sight dangling over the water's edge.

He sighed, longing for simpler times. He longed for the lazy days where he would watch Merlin swim for hours on end. Where he would nap under the sun until Gwaine decided he wanted to play. The man was more child than Mordred back then. He always had a game, whether it be hiding or hunting, so long as they were running around. He made Mordred's childhood something he didn't look back on and despise. It was too bad it couldn't last. Now he was too serious. Even more so these days. He drank, more than Mordred had thought possible, and pressed him to doing this and that around the castle. He knew Gwaine was just looking out for him, like he always was, but sometimes he wished he would suggest they play a game like old times. He knew he wasn't too old for them yet, and a day of just the two of them, with no interruptions or duties to weigh them down wasn't too much to ask for.

But he knew that wasn't what he really wanted. What he really wanted was the creature ignoring him. He knew he deserved it, and would have to make amends before trying to ask for Merlin's favour again.

 _'I'm not angry.'_

Mordred huffed, relief filling him.

The lake was still empty when he looked out, but Merlin was speaking to him. The short words niggled at the back of his mind, along with the connection that bloomed anew between them. It was a haze of gold, and even feeling it had the grass around him growing and the plucked daisies blooming again. He pressed slightly through their connection, and saw a brief image of Merlin's home.

He didn't do this often, peer through Merlin's eyes. He knew the merman didn't know he was doing it. Yet it still felt like a violation of some kind. One Mordred guiltily enjoyed delving into every now and then.

Through Merlin's eyes he saw himself. It was flickering through the mirror of water, and looking more haggard than it had done in the citadel. His curls were everywhere, and the cirlces under his eyes more pronounced. Despite all that there was a smile on Mordred's face.

Mordred left as Merlin looked around, swimming slightly deeper until the mermaid's secret kingdom appeared before him. He'd only seen it once before. A dream he didn't know was Merlin's eyesight.

It wasn't a city like Camelot. Full of tall towers and a multitude of houses. The mermaids lived in a series of rocks. Some huge and towering, blocking out the sun as they curved. Others were short, and piled up to make arches and seats where the girls swam and played. Below all this was the mermaids biggest secret. One which they didn't even know they kept. At least three feet of treasure lay in a bowl like pit in the middle of the lake's floor. Mordred hadn't looked through Merlin's eyes long enough to see anything specific any time. All he knew was it was a lot of gold. Gold mixed in with broken wood and chain mail that served as enough warning to Mordred that it wasn't a treasure worth fighting over. He would surely lose.

Back on dry land, Mordred went back to his chain. If Merlin wasn't mad at him he would come and talk. If he was and just said it to make Mordred go away, well, he had nothing better to do today. He could wait.

It was nearing dark when Merlin's head peaked above the water. Mordred had always loved how seductively eerie an image Merlin made as he did this. Just his eyes and the beginning of his nose. His raven hair plastered to his skull, save for the sides that flicked out like feathers. He knew dry they would be just as unruly. His hair was used to flying, and didn't like being tied down by a common thing like air. His eyes were his biggest feature. The brows upturned in a playful, mocking wave as his blue eyes promised fun. He had told Mordred he did it to make his victims laugh. He would use this look as a playful flirtation to put them off guard. It made him approachable, attractive. When they thought him this they often didn't think him capable of anything else. They never looked deeper, like Mordred had, into those eyes and saw the danger there. The power.

He was much like Gwaine in that. The man was a laugh, and it was hard to pin him as anything else when he'd made your sides hurt. They never suspect that he had a cunning mind beneath all that. A mind that had already catalogued what kind of man they were, and the best way to take them down if things went sour. He'd confessed to Mordred one night, after he had came back from his first quest, that Arthur wasn't a man he could beat with skill alone. It was why he had cuddled up to him in Camelot, he needed to know more before he could formulate a real possibility of defeat.

Mordred sometimes wished he could do that. When he was younger he had relied on his guile. Older now and he could no longer do that. It wasn't like he was charming either. Despite what Merlin said.

He put that thought away as Merlin bobbed up further. His brows drew together as he looked Mordred over, before relaxing as a far away sigh left his lips. Mordred held his breath as Merlin pulled himself up, surprised when he didn't stop and sit away from him. Instead, he crawled over until he was kissing the last breath out of him.

"I'm not mad," Merlin said when he drew back.

"But... I sent you back."

Mordred had been overwhelmed. As soon as the druids left he found himself moved, again, to new chambers nearer the king. Merlin had adapted to the change better than Mordred. The new chambers meant closer access to Arthur. He often came back late at night to see Arthur yelling at Merlin as he lounged in the king's bath. He also often found Merlin grabbing him for him at random moments of the day for a spontaneous frotting session. He figured Arthur had made a mention of it to him, especially when the king knocked loudly one night to tell them to quiet down- it only made Merlin more eager.

After the move he was saddled with a mountain of books. Where Arthur got them from he didn't know. As far as he knew Camelot had burned any books about magic. Yet somehow Mordred was given eighteen tomes and twenty smaller yet no less dense books about most aspects of magic. Arthur told him he was to dedicate at least five hours to studying them, and another three with Gaius talking about what he had studied.

"It's a big responsibility Mordred," Arthur had said. "I need you on top form."

After the books of magic and his new lessons came the practical application of his role. He was to sit in on daily viewing sessions and give actual advice on everyday concerns. He had people's lives in his hands. It was unnerving, stressful. He could made a wrong decision and ruin someone's life. He could ruin this whole movement if he wasn't careful. He could put Arthur off magic forever.

By the end of a week he was itching to get out and stretch his legs, even if it was for a walk. He didn't need to do anything too strenuous so long as he had the sun on his face and fresh air in his lungs. But that wasn't possible. Not for the newly appointed court sorcerer, who hadn't even been appointed yet, he was still on a trial basis.

So he was stuck listening, enviously, to Merlin as he regaled his day being beaten up by Arthur.

"I managed to get a hit in this time," Merlin crowed, his face lighting up at the violence before dropping. "Of course that just made him more determined to have me on my back."

He showed the bruises were Arthur's sword had banged off the armour. Mordred wondered why the king was still trying. Merlin was no fighter. He was a hunter. A creature that didn't need strength to take someone down, just a pretty face and quick limbs. Training was being wasted on him. Mordred was certain Arthur was just doing it to have an excuse to touch Merlin. He had seen the way the king sometimes looked at him. It drove jealousy into his head, imagining Merlin succumbing to the king's charms.

It was a fear that still stuck with him from his childhood. The thought Merlin would tire of him and run off towards his destiny. It was getting worse the more time Merlin spent with Arthur and the less he spent with him.

He remembered the night he had came back from his kidnapping. The way the two of them were friendly towards each other. The fact they shared a bed. He had gave in to some of his insecurities back then. He approached Gwaine and actually asked the man for some advice. Of course it was just to shag him. He didn't understand the moral dilemma Mordred was in when thinking about taking his advice when Merlin didn't know what shagging actually was.

Now he did, and for that Mordred was slightly thankful for Gwaine's crudeness. However, even the thought of returning to Merlin for some fun couldn't make life in Camelot any more welcome.

He found that Merlin was also unhappy here. He always outright said so. Arguments with Arthur had been sparked through such speeches. But it was also his actions that spoke of how unhappy he was. Mordred could no longer take him to the stream underneath Camelot. Gwaine tried, but often Mordred heard him turn the offers down. Then there was the training. Sure, he enjoyed beating Arthur up as best he could, yet there were still the nights were Mordred would come back and find Merlin groaning under the moonlight. His pale skin mottled with blues and blacks, plaguing him so much that he didn't move as Mordred healed him.

His cabin fever reached a height one council filled morning. Talk had turned from ordinary matters to those of Mordred's performance. He was under scrutiny, looked over again for weakness and looked down on for being what he was. Those who still supported Uther, which was most of them, voiced their complaints. Each one was well researched and truthful. Mordred would have expected nothing less from them. But that didn't mean it was easy to hear.

Arthur defended him as he always did. Arguing that Mordred was more than qualified to lead Camelot in this new revolution.

He left with the king's hand on his shoulder, whispering praise in his ear.

"It's never easy to hear criticism. You've done better than I did. As I recall I asked my father to execute the lot of them. He didn't, of course, but I learned a valuable lesson about the council. So long as they are voicing their concerns they aren't plotting behind my back."

Merlin didn't share this view when he told him about his day later.

The man had been lying on his back, letting Mordred work on the shallow cut adorning his thigh. All complaints about his tail had went as soon as Mordred told him about the new plans on his actual ceremonial appointment.

"I'll talk to him," Merlin said.

"No." He didn't like the idea of the two of them alone. "I'll just find another way of telling him."

It had been a big topic between the two of them. Mordred had been in a bout of denial about his role in court. Steadily through his trial he had hoped Arthur would tire of the notion or find he wasn't up to the standard a court sorcerer should be. While he didn't want the whole idea gone, he had wished that Arthur would find someone else. But he hadn't. Merlin had remained adamant that he wouldn't from the start, telling him to voice his own opinion about the matter. But Merlin was a man eating creature, someone who could escape by just looking at a guard funny. Mordred, on the other hand, was in Arthur's debt. For harbouring him. Helping him to escape. Giving him a chance at a luxurious life where others would have tossed him to the dirt.

It wasn't as simple as turning Arthur down.

"Mordred." His hand was stayed as Merlin rolled to meet his gaze. "What have I told you?"

"Don't do debts," He sighed. "I know. I'll tell him."

He felt more than heard Merlin huff in disbelief. Not wanting to talk about it anymore he made him turn to his stomach and attended to the wound again.

The matter wasn't settled by far. He was woken later by Merlin getting out of bed. It didn't take reading his mind to know he was going to see Arthur.

He made to follow him, to stop him, but stopped just shy of pushing Arthur's door open.

A slither of light escaped where Merlin had forgotten to close it. It carried the sound, quieter from the wood interference, but audible from where he stood. His name rang clearly as it did.

He knew it wasn't ridiculous to hear his name being said. Merlin had went in there on his behalf after all. But when he went to stop whatever argument that would erupt, he hadn't expected this to be the topic of which they discussed him on.

"- me do?" Arthur yelled. He sounded strained, like this had been a topic gone over more than once and hew as tired of hearing about it.

Merlin sounded the same as he gave his, probably repeated, response. "Let him find his own path. It's not yours to mould Arthur. If you keep at it something's going to give. The future you're trying to avoid could well be the one you're helping to forge."

A scoff, and quick steps, as Arthur paced about his room. "Don't be so pessimistic Merlin. This is going to work. Mordred's going to find his place here. He's going to become a _part_ of Albion, and not its destruction."

He felt the breath seep out of him.

So this was why the dragon didn't want him with Merlin. This was why countless druid clans would harbour him until he spoke his name. They knew. Everyone had known.

He escaped back to his room before he could do something stupid. Like kill Arthur.

Once the idea had planted itself it wouldn't shake his mind. Every time he looked at Merlin, or Arthur, he would think about what he was feeling. Whether he could feel the hate welling up. Whether it was hate at all that would make his hand stray toward his sword.

He felt like an innocence had been taken of him as he lay at night. No longer could he find the soothing scenes of watching Merlin swim. Instead his mind conjured up those dreams of Arthur. The ones that had came to him when he had been ill. Of plunging his dagger in Arthur's chest. Of Merlin gazing at him with abstract horror as he watched his world crumble down around him. Dream Merlin cared for Arthur much more than the real one did. It made them that much worse.

He did what he did days later out of fright. He didn't want Merlin to hate him. He didn't want him to watch him become this monster he was destined to be. So he called Gwaine to fetch a pig, and fed it a light poison. Through the pigs system it would be fatal, to Merlin however it would act as a sedative. At worst he would suffer a headache.

The plan worked, and as dark fell he was sneaking out of the citadel, and leaving Merlin in a newly melted stream with his tail shining in the moonlight.

He had felt guilty the next morning and went to go fetch Merlin back. Hoping, in vain, that the he would still be there.

"Forgive me," Mordred begged by the lakeside.

Merlin huffed, the air blowing one of his curls. "You really don't know how I see you." He made Mordred look him in the eye, repeating again, "I'm not mad. It's actually kind of nice to be back."

He didn't want to ask the question urging itself out of his mouth, so he pushed it back, and asked another instead.

"What was that? In the mirror?"

Merlin squinted, the look so familiar as he tried to recall what Mordred had seen it made him smile. For someone so deceptive his face was far too open. "The one with us in bed or the one with us at Arthur's wheel table?"

Mordred laughed at both.

Merlin went on, "The table. Right. I asked mother about it. The image came up just as I returned, along with a few others. It's an image of Albion. All of us, united."

He recalled his treaty with the merfolk. He had delivered them a seeing crystal. One which the rogues expected him to master. One which Merlin had said he would gift to his mother since he had broken hers. "An image of the future?"

"An image of a future," Merlin corrected.

He explained about the other images he saw. The exchange of money. The clashing of swords. The deaths of his people. Apparently these people were versed in killing merfolk since Merlin told him they were near extinction in the mirror.

"It's an image of the Saxon invasion," Merlin told. "The girls mentioned when I got back that they had been getting a steady stream of men in the last few weeks. Many of them couldn't speak Celtic. They sounded like they came from across the sea. I think a planned invasion is coming. It's the only reason why we're all banded together. Merfolk, magic and each of the five kingdoms."

"Each of the five kingdoms?"

Merlin recalled the scene at the table again. Where Mordred had been concerned with Merlin and himself sitting side by side in Arthur's court, Merlin had looked at the others. The kings and Queens who ruled each of the five kingdoms that sat themselves as equals at Arthur's table.

Merlin drew his tail up, curling himself around it like it were a pair of legs. It was an oddly vulnerable pose, one Mordred had never seen him take with his tail.

"I think the time has come for us to stop acting like children and talk about the future. We both have destinies weighing us down. Mine longer than yours."

The look in his eyes as he spoke told Mordred he knew exactly why he had sent Merlin back. He knew Mordred had heard them talk about him destroying Albion.

"You didn't tell me."

"Just as you didn't tell me," Merlin countered. "Which was foolish. If we are going to prevent the future we should be aware of what that is."

"I forgive you," Mordred gave.

They talked for a while on the bank about destiny. Merlin explaining what Arthur and himself knew. That Mordred was meant to be their destruction. It was everything he feared and more because Arthur was still wanting him in Camelot.

Together they argued about the merits of keeping Mordred away from Camelot, or just letting him continue.

"Do you feel murderous towards him?" Merlin asked.

Mordred thought, and shook his head. "Not unless he's touching you. But that's more out of jealousy than anger."

He got a kiss for that.

"I think destiny is stupid," Merlin said as he drew back. "The dragon once told me that I was meant to be a man, the other side to Arthur's coin. That I was to protect him and use my magic to help him. So far, the only thing he's been right about is that Arthur's the other side of my coin. If he wasn't I think we would get along better."

"So you're saying we should just ignore everything we've seen and heard and go on with life?"

"Precisely," Merlin grinned. Then he amended, "We should probably tell Arthur about those Saxons however. Even if the dragon was wrong about me the mirror isn't wrong about them. I've already sent girls out to scope out how many boats are on their way."

Arthur was going to be unstoppable, Mordred thought. Between the three of them they had the magic, the land and the sea covered. There would be nowhere in this kingdom the Saxons could hide from them.

They talked more about destiny for a while, the hours waning. Until, finally, they broached the question Mordred had been loathed to ask when he got here. Whether Merlin was coming back to Camelot.

"Of course," He said. "I was just waiting for transport. There's no way I'm walking all the way there."

* * *

 **AN: I've decided to end it here. Mainly because I might want to rewrite a few of these last chapters and would rather not have them mount up the more I write. Thank you to those who read this story, and those who review. I appreciate it immensely.**


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